Chapter 24

He hated waking up after being sedated. It always left him feeling a little groggy, light headed even. He hated that most. He was used to being alert at all times, waking up at the smallest noise. Sedation destroyed that training, making him weary of what changes he would meet upon waking. For all he knew they had transferred him to some secure prison off base and away from them.

Ward forced his eyelids open, only wincing slightly at the unusual light. They hadn't moved him. Had they put in more lights? He'd spent enough time in this cell to know it was too bright for it's usual lighting, especially when the force field was solid wall. What had they changed?

The flicker of something in the background, followed by the flipping of paper, had him looking at the wall opposite his bed. There's a screen. A screen with 'her' on it. He feels his blood run cold as he took in the information. They had put a video feed of her medical? Room in his cell. Were they thinking this would change his mind?

He would have laughed, except it was then he noticed to figure sitting on the bed beside her. Who was that? Or more correctly, what was that? The scaled creature held a blank cover book in his hands. That was what he had heard, it turning the page of its book. It must have been reading to her, though Skye was obviously still comatose.

Ward could just hear the quiet voice, not quite able to make out the words escaping it, but catching the murmur. Who was this thing? What was this thing? Though he hadn't made a noise, sitting up in his bed, it looked up at him with bright amber eyes.

He didn't know if Daisy's room had audio, like his seemed to, though it clearly must have a video feed of his cell. Watching the strange being as it closed the book, placing it beside the unconscious inhuman.. Wait. Inhuman. He was sure his eyes went wide, taking in the scales and claws with weary curiosity. He knew the mist changed them, but this drastically?

It seemed to look directly at him, lips tugging up to reveal a smirk that would send any normal man screaming in fear. With teeth like that, and those talons, it was hard to imagine it had once been a normal human.

'She thinks I'm a monster.'

But she has a real monster with her right now. Seriously, the damage that thing could do. It was a wonder why S.H.I.E.L.D didn't have it locked up in some cage like him.

"Because underneath the skin, I'm not a monster. I wouldn't hurt anyone."

Louder now, his voice revealed his youth. He was a kid, probably not even in high school yet. Ward would hate to have to go to school looking like that. Kids were cruel enough without him looking like that.

"It speaks."

"So do you."

His brow furrowed as he looked the teenager over. It was strange to think he had probably looked like a normal kid before. The inhuman looked at him with equally curious eyes, making him wonder what the team had told him.

'I am not a good man'

Daisy had probably filled his head with stories of a traitor, the monster that tried to kill Coulson and Fitz on Maveth. The one that almost destroyed the team, and the most recently, put the quake inhuman into a coma. He was the monster that filled their nightmares.

"Yeah, they've told me a little about you, but I make it a point not to judge someone until I get to know them myself." Maybe he was younger than he thought. Cause anyone else who had heard about him would not be so willing to get to know him themselves. "And, like I told Daisy, you can't be all that bad."

A scoff escaped his cool facade, and Ward couldn't stop himself from letting out a small chuckle. This kid was something else, and it wasn't just the lizard skin. Daisy clearly hadn't told him enough, if he thought there was even a little good in him.

"Actually I can be that bad-.. What's your name?"

'What's your name?'

The look he received made the hydra man wonder what he was missing. It seemed like everyone in this place knew something he didn't and it was really beginning to get on his nerves. If they weren't going to tell him, don't drop hints of what it could be.

"Caleb."

The inhuman she was transitioning. The one Lincoln had said might find out what Hive had done with Daisy in his body. How did he expect a kid to find out? She wasn't the type to share her pain easily, at least not the Skye he knew. There was no way she'd tell such things to a child. What made the older male inhuman think she would turn to this creature? He didn't exactly scream comforting.

"Maybe not, but I'm a lot friendlier than you."

Ward stared at the teen for a long moment, he knew he hadn't said that last thought out loud. He hadn't said a word, he'd been waiting for him to further introduce himself and let his mind run through what he knew. Why did it seem like he was responding directly to his thoughts?

"Because I am." Caleb laughed at the look he must have made at such a statement.

"So what, the lizard hide is just a side effect, your real power is mind reading?"

"More or less." The inhuman didn't seem to mind his tone, or being compared to an animal. Not like Ward expected he would. He thought he'd be more self conscious about his appearance. Most teens were already, without being turned into that. "Daisy says I shouldn't be embarrassed, that I'm perfect just the way I am."

That was going to get extremely annoying really fast. "You do realize you look like something that just walked out of Jurassic park, right?"

"And you have no right to judge. As far as I know, you're the real monster, I just have the looks."

"What happened to getting to know me first? Before you judge."

"It doesn't take long to know you, Ward." His gaze turned solemn, and he turned back to the inhuman tucked under the covers. "I just hope she's right about you."

The specialist glanced at Daisy, before the words processed in his head. "Don't tell me you're in on this too! What did Coulson rope you into this?"

Caleb jumped at the sudden venom in his voice, turning to look at him in confusion. "What?"

"Is that what this is? Setting up this feed so I can see her, and make me think if I'm compliant I'll have her." He turned to the security camera, glaring at it. "That's low! Even for you Coulson!"

The teen showed no signs of understanding what he was saying, even taking a step closer to the camera. "What are you talking about? They set up the video feed so Daisy could see that you're okay, that you weren't killed for hurting her."

'Are you hurt?'

The truth in his strange golden gaze had the man falling silent in confusion. He wanted to disagree, claim he was still lying, but there was no way the kid could lie that well. It took years of experience to lie that well, years this being wasn't even alive long enough to have.

"It's because of her that you're alive. She cares about you a lot, even though she knows what you are. She disobeyed Coulson so she could separate you from Hive! And how do you repay her?!" The sneer that broke across the inhuman's face surprised him. Though he had the looks, Ward hadn't expected him to look so menacing. He spit out the words as he continued, anger boiling in the depths of his gaze. "You tried to kill her."

'You gonna kill me now?'

The human looked away from him for a moment, turning his back to the monitor and camera. Taking a moment to contain himself, before he spoke. "You don't know what is was like, I felt like I was dying every moment in that darkness." He started, not daring to see what expression the teen now wore. "I promised I'd go straight, to be good. If only for the suffering to end."

'It's different. You're... good.'

He wasn't looking for pity, he wasn't even hoping for sympathy. He just had to let it out, and he'd chose this kid over Coulson any day. "When light finally did break through, I thought I saw an angel, pulling me from Hell. I couldn't believe one had thought I deserved saving, but then the light faded and the angel turned out to be Skye."

"Then why, why did you try to kill Daisy?" He scowled at the hidden correction in Caleb's inquiry, reminding him again Skye was now Daisy.

'Not always.'

He wasn't sure why, he'd told Coulson it was in retaliation to what happened in San Juan, but he wasn't so sure. She'd suddenly been right there, under him, he hadn't known what was happening outside his head. Didn't know what she'd done, he'd only seen her lips moving, not hearing. For all he'd known in that moment she had been attacking him. He was just defending himself. Whatever she was saying, he wouldn't have wanted to hear it. She could have been cussing him out and saying how much she hated him and promising death.

"You were scared." His statement made the hydra spy jerk around to face him. He'd almost gotten lost in his memories.

"No.. I wasn't scared."

'you don't have to shut people out.'

"Yes you were, you still are." The teen argued. "You're afraid Daisy hates you, you didn't want to find out if she did, so you tried to silence her. You don't want to admit you still like her because you can't stand the thought of rejection again, but what you don't realize is she's just as crazy about you as you are for her."

He stayed silent, hoping in some way he could block the telepath from invading his mind more than he already had during their conversation.

'You're wrong.'

He repeated it over and over in his head, trying to make that the only thought the inhuman could pick out from the mass swarming his mind.

"Am I?"

'You can't choose to feel.'

His challenge didn't spur the emotion he'd hoped it would. Ward remained where he was turning over his thoughts in his head. Attempting to clear his mind at the same time while keeping the inhuman out. Not an easy feet, especially when the kid kept commenting on those thoughts.

'Usually I can.'

"If you can't be truthful with me, at least be open with her. She deserves to know her efforts weren't for nothing."

The human watched from the corner of his eye as the teen turned and left Daisy's containment. His shoulders relaxed a little, though the little monster could probably still hear his thoughts, it was nice to feel like he was mostly alone. He couldn't comment on his thoughts if he couldn't see him.

"I'm not afraid." He said quietly, leaning against the wall opposite the force field blocking his escape. He glanced at the sleeping girl on screen, there was a little more color in her cheeks than there had been the last time he saw her. Though she still looked dead tired. "And I don't love you."

'Yeah I do.'