Hello beautiful readers!
Thank you for the amazing initial response! I treasure all your reviews, favorites, follows, and views and I always desire to hear from you all.
Without further ado, allow me to present chapter two!
Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of Shield. Luckily for everyone...
Fitz could tell that Jemma was distressed.
He glanced at her from his spot beside Kasius, wishing he could just kill the blue psychopath and get his team out of this whole messed up situation.
"What's wrong?" he tried to ask Jemma with his eyes, hoping that they still had what they had before the whole Framework and him turning into a mass murderer and Jemma watching him kill someone and then catapulting into the future in outer space…
Jemma glanced around, making sure she wasn't being watched, then mouthed the word "Daisy."
They stared at each other for a second, far too much to say and no way to say it.
"You fancy her?" Kasius had followed his gaze.
Fitz tore his eyes away from Jemma's.
"She intrigues me. Did she really travel in time and space?" Fitz turned to the Kree.
"She did, with Quake."
"And you said there was a third one?" Fitz remembered all too well how the alien had announced that before his assistant brutally murdered an inhuman in front of them all at lunch.
His stomach rolled.
In the Framework he had done similar things. Was he such a man now?
"There is. Which brings us to our first battle." Kasius smiled at Fitz before standing up.
Whatever the blue man announced, it was lost on Fitz as he watched May limp into the arena.
This is not good.
Clearly, the senior agent was severely injured. Although she held her own well, of course, the odds were not in her favor.
The feeling of dread grew and Fitz tried not react as May was slammed down into the ground by the inhuman she had been forced in combat against.
Automatically he glanced at Jemma, who shared his horror.
In a final last ditch effort, May tried to lunge at the inhuman. Her leg did not hold; rather it crumpled beneath her. She fell to the ground, blood dripping from her mouth as she turned to look at her adversary.
"I want her," Fitz announced, standing up suddenly.
The battle halted.
"My good friend, clearly this human's prime has passed," Kasius raised an eyebrow. "I am surprised that someone of your stature would be interested in such a purchase."
Fitz took a deep breath. "I intend to purchase Quake and her companion. While I can use the companion to persuade Quake, who shall I use to control the companion? I don't desire to do anything to my prized fighter that might jeopardize her performance. If this woman truly travelled with them and is expendable, what better candidate for the job?" Fitz shrugged nonchalantly, his heart pounding in his chest as he felt like throwing up at the taste of his own words.
May was going to kill him. Then Jemma was going to kill him. Then May was going to kill him again.
Kasius chuckled softly. "I can see you are a man who gets what he wants," he winked. "Very well." He raised his hand and a guard grabbed May and pulled her away. "When we conclude, we shall negotiate the terms of your purchase."
Fitz nodded, sitting down.
Another pair of inhumans fought and Fitz stared stoically at the wall behind them, not able to watch.
Another pair was introduced and Fitz couldn't hold back any longer.
"Where is Quake? Where is the battle I have been promised? I'm bored of these children fighting each other!"
Kasius's eyebrow twitched.
"We must finish."
"If you insist on childish displays, I have work to attend to outside. Call me when you have what I have come here for." Fitz stormed out of the room, pulling out his communication device as soon as he made it out of the room, his stomach rolling.
He couldn't watch, couldn't see the blows and pain and see his own Framework actions in the reflection of the congealing blood.
Leaving fit his character so he did it.
"My friend, I have bad news."
Kasius had followed him, although Fitz could still hear the faint sounds of a battle in the arena continuing on.
"What is it now?" Fitz's annoyance was real. He noticed that a guard had brought Jemma along as well, his chest clenching with fear.
"I am planning on telling the other guests at the conclusion of the current event, but I respect your character and know that the sooner you know, the better." Kasius looked almost nervous. "My brother offered payment I could not refuse; Quake has been sold. Faulnak has already taken her from this ship to his training center."
Fitz felt his world sway slightly beneath his feet.
Daisy. Oh god. Daisy.
Kasius misinterpreted his silence for anger and hastily motioned to the guard who brought Jemma forward.
"A gift, for you. I cannot tell you how much I regret not being able to offer Quake to you. Perhaps this will slightly cool your rage."
Fitz glanced at Jemma who stared blankly back at him.
He had Jemma. He could get May.
He wasn't going to just let Daisy go though! They were family; they didn't leave one another behind.
But he had to do what was strategically best for his team, including Daisy. If he blew a fuse, he could damage his relationship with Kasius, which could be useful in the quest he now knew they would go on to get Daisy back.
His teammate was already gone.
He had to salvage what he had so he could strike back harder. And he had to get Jemma and May to safety while he could.
Mind made up, Fitz turned to Kasius, face hard.
"I am not pleased." He clenched his jaw. "But I accept your gift."
Kasius looked visibly relieved.
"Allow me to add in the older fighter you desired, free of charge, as a sign of my true apologies."
Fitz tilted his head.
"Business is business. I understand why you made the decision you did. I just advise you do not waste my time again. I'll have the two women loaded onto my ship immediately."
There was no reason to stay a second longer.
"What the hell is going on?" May turned to Jemma as soon as they were deposited in a closed off room of a space ship. "Where is Daisy?"
Jemma bit her lip.
"She's gone."
May's eyes flared and she rose to her feet despite the fact she was dripping blood and could barely stand. "What do you mean?"
"They sold her to Kasius's brother," Jemma choked out. "I saw them take her, out the back way so nobody could see."
May swore, swaying on her feet, dark eyes alight with fury.
"May, please, sit down," Jemma moved to help the older agent, trying to keep her tears at bay. "You're badly hurt."
"She's right," Fitz agreed, causing them to spin around. He had opened the door, sagging slightly against the doorframe. "Don't injure yourself further; we need everyone to be in their best state so we go to get Daisy back."
"Fitz!" Jemma couldn't help but rush forward, finally able to hug him. "How on earth…"
"It's a long story," Fitz cut her off. "A long story I promise I will tell, but not right now. For the moment, let's focus on getting out of here and helping you two."
Another man appeared next to him, examining them evenly.
"Who is this?" May asked bluntly.
"This is Enoch. He's going to get the ship started and away from this hellhole until we can figure out what to do next while I get the capsule out of your ear, Jemma."
"What?" Jemma stared at him.
Fitz held up a pair of pliers apologetically.
Many terrifying minutes later, Jemma shook her head appreciatively, finally washing the stupid gold make-up off her face and able to hear the world uninhibited. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled slightly.
"Much better."
"I think so too." Fitz was watching in the open doorway.
Jemma turned to him, noting the way his shoulders were slightly hunched and his eyes tired.
"Hi."
"Enoch is helping May."
"Good."
She kissed him gently and for a moment they just held each other, taking comfort in the other's presence.
"We're going to get Daisy," Jemma pulled back, finding Fitz's gaze and holding it steadily. "And then we are going to kill Kasius."
Fitz didn't react.
"The last time I spent any substantial time with Daisy was in the Framework when I was torturing her."
Jemma took his hand automatically, her heart dropping.
She knew that Daisy had been tortured but never actually saw or heard anything about it.
"It's not your fault. It wasn't you."
"But that's precisely it; it was me!" Fitz pulled away from her. "We have to get her back, if just for the sole reason that I have to apologize to her."
"We will. We will get the whole team and go back home. I know it."
Fitz suddenly, desperately, pulled her close. "I was so scared something had happened to you. I need you, Jemma Simmons." His frame shook slightly.
Jemma held him tight.
"I was scared too. But now I'm ready to rain hell and bring back our family."
"What are you afraid of, Quake, Destroyer of Worlds?"
Daisy stared at the wall in front of her, studiously ignoring the large red trainer pacing back and forth in front of her. Her neck ached slightly where a new inhibitor had been injected in. Very slightly she tugged against the metal bands holding her in the chair. They didn't budge.
"Answer me!"
Her silence was rewarded with a powerful punch to the face but Daisy still did not speak.
"What are you afraid of?" The red man crouched in front of her, his red eyes searching hers.
Two things: 1. Losing my family. 2. Myself.
"What are you afraid of?!"
"Unicorns."
The trainer stared at her blankly.
"I'm afraid of unicorns, okay?" Daisy raised her eyebrows at him. "I mean, why are they rainbow colored? Is it a disease? Is it contagious?"
The next punch left her spitting blood onto the ground.
"I will tell you. Here, you fear one thing: failure."
The trainer wrapped his hands around her neck, slowly cutting off Daisy's air supply. She closed her eyes, fighting panic as her lungs began craving oxygen.
"I will teach you not to fear pain, to not even to fear death," the trainer whispered in her ear. "You will face indescribable pain. You will face death. But a good arena fighter only fears failure."
He released Daisy just as her vision was starting to go black and she let out a strangled gasp.
"You…" her throat was tender. "You have such a beautiful way with words. Have you ever thought about becoming a poet?" Daisy panted.
The trainer turned on her. "You have good spirit. I will enjoy breaking you. Let's begin training."
"Training", as Daisy realized a few minutes in, was more or less a "beat-the-shit-out-of-you session", which really sucked. She wouldn't have minded learning some cool new alien moves.
Daisy tuned out about quarter of an hour in, letting her mind wander elsewhere. She wondered if May was okay, if Jemma and Fitz got away with her, where Coulson and Mack and Yo-Yo were. She thought about Mack's daughter Hope in the Framework and wondered how Mack was holding up. She tried to remember what actually ever happened to Coulson's car, Lola. What had even happened to her own van? That was so long ago. As she thought, her memories became more and more muddled with pain.
Suddenly the blows stopped, the pain pleasantly leveling off instead of growing.
The trainer looked at her approvingly.
"You are good. Now that I have assessed your beginning tolerance, we can really begin."
He pressed a button and suddenly the new inhibitor in Daisy's neck began to hum slightly.
"What…" Daisy suddenly was hit by the most excruciating pain she had ever felt, her back arching, limbs shaking as a scream was torn from her throat.
"Better." The trainer clicked off the device and Daisy collapsed against the chair, head lulling in semi-consciousness. "When you have become used to this feeling, you will no longer even register the pain of the arena."
"Go to hell," Daisy gasped.
The trainer just pushed the button again.
Question of the day: popcorn or chips?
Until the next chapter!
~silverlining