Author's Note: So apparently the key to being inspired to write is to have something else I'm supposed to be doing, and will be graded on. School started Monday, and I'd been stuck on this scene since...well, since last update. While listening to "Rat a Tat" by Fall Out Boy on my hour and a half commute to classes, I was suddenly inspired for this scene. Thank you for your patience while I wrestled with this thing, and hopefully, people still read this. I don't think a lot of Ward fans still watch the show because how awfully the writers portrayed him since the second half of season 2, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, this has gone from a one shot to an alternate season 2 and beyond - or how I would've liked them to incorporate at least HALF of the awesome material they wrote for Ward before using it to wipe their own asses with it.

Not that I'm bitter.

Also - for anyone who likes Angela, remember: she is very much a bad guy.

Onwards!

Fitz wasn't sure what he was expecting. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was really hoping for a nice, quiet catatonic state, like on those stupid sci-fi movies where the amnesiac remembers everything and just quietly passes out, or, if it was a girl, let slip one lone tear of regret at her newly recovered past.

Too bad Ward didn't know that was how it was supposed to go.

The reaction was almost instantaneous – and if he hadn't just seen Angela duck out of the way almost as soon as she'd touched her brother and followed her example, he would've been a human torch.

"You bitch!" Ward snarled, and hurled a blast of fire so hot it burned magnesium white, and suddenly Fitz knew why Angela brought them to the hangar bay.

Science and logic: the entire hanger was designed for fire suppression if needed, the high ceilings and open windows and doors dissipating the heat that he could feel from almost twenty feet away singe the hair off his arms.

More importantly, there were a lot more things to hide behind – like the metal shipping containers and partially dismantled quinjets.

This wasn't the uncontrolled disaster from the hangar before – Ward wasn't panicked and unsure and desperate.

He'd seen this side of Ward before.

When he'd picked up that staff the first time.

It was fortunate Ward didn't seem to care about him, because Fitz's feet refused to obey his brain's orders of Run, you moron!

"You knew what you were doing!" Ward roared, and hurled another blast at Angela who barely made it out of the way as she dodged behind one of the shipping containers. The fiery blast hit the side of the metal, turning it to molten slag.

"Of course I did," Angela shouted back. She didn't sound as concerned as Fitz would expect someone would if they were about to be murdered by a fucking flame thrower. "You think mom would let me run around loose if she knew what I was capable of?"

"You didn't just steal from me, you tried to rewrite me!"

Warning klaxons blared as the smoke reached the detectors, the heat sensors set up around the building going haywire as the temperature in the hangar spiked even higher. Fitz could see the heat shimmering in the air, radiating from melted container and from Ward himself.

"I did what I had to, to get out from under Adaline's knife!" Angela shouted. "You or me, Grant! You can't honestly be surprised that I chose you!"

"You lied!"

"Of course I did!"

Whatever the hell Angela had done, whatever the nightmares she seemed to have uncovered, part of it was obviously knowledge on how to use the Hellfire formula, because Ward wasn't even hesitating. Unlike Skye when she first went through her terrigenesis, there was no learning curve. He'd seen Ward in the hangar after Gonzalez had set him off, and this was nowhere near that. Those flames had been sporadic at best, the type of fire he usually associated with camping – yellow and orange and warm, and sounded like the special effects for house fires on television.

The amount of force and energy behind the blasts Ward was capable of now created momentary vacuums as the fire pulling in the oxygen from the surrounding air and fueling them enough that he was cutting through the metal of the containers.

And the noise.

He could barely hear over the roar of the flames. It was liking standing next to a shuttle about to lift off.

Angela neatly side stepped out of the way, pivoting on one foot like an extra out of The Matrix to avoid a partial blast, and Fitz had to wonder if she was actually fireproof.

"Adaline knew the power of a deal with the Devil, didn't she brother?" Angela said, spitting out the last word like it was something rotten. "I make you less of a danger, and I got to go free. You didn't honestly think that she would've let you live if you were a failure, did you?"

Ward didn't answer, or if he did, Fitz couldn't hear him. Instead, he slammed his foot down on the ground, superheating the concrete until it cracked and exploded outwards, fissuring underneath the container Angela had ducked behind and exploding with such force that it sent the two-ton piece of metal flying.

"They weren't trying to finish what she started, they were trying to reactivate it!" Ward swung wide, arcing the ball of flame around like a curve ball, barely missing his sister.

Fitz could tell even from here that while she seemed unnaturally concerned about being the target of her brother's rage, her skin was beginning to look like she had a bad sunburn – turning red and cracked as it began to flake.

What was she playing at?

Angela wasn't an idiot. In fact, she was quite the opposite – she was cold, calculating killer genius. She wouldn't risk her own death at the hands of her pyrotechnic brother if there wasn't something in it for her. But what could possibly be her gain from chancing getting incinerated?

"Ward!"

Fitz's head whipped around at the sound of Skye's voice and cringed.

Not only was it Skye, but it was half the team – Coulson, Gonzalez, Bobbi and Hunter and May followed behind her.

And half of Gonzalez's private army, all armed with ICER rifles and flash gear for firefighting.

The flame retardant riot gear was what finally made it click, and Fitz could've slapped himself.

"Ward!" he shouted, waving his arms to get his friend's attention, bolting for him while he was facing in the opposite direction. "Ward, it's a –"

"Not another word, Fitz!" Angela snapped, and Fitz's jaw clamped shut with an audible clack, and no amount of pulling or prying could open it.

No, he thought desperately, trying to pry his own teeth apart, but it was like they'd been fused together.

"Ward, stop it or I will!" Skye threatened, and the ground shook, echoing her threat.

Whether or not the threat had the desired effect or not, it certainly got Ward's attention, because he whirled on her.

Maybe her training with May did pay off, because she just managed to avoid the fireball thrown at her.

"This isn't your concern, Daisy," Ward snarled. "This is a family discussion."

"Stop or I will make you," Skye threatened again, and Fitz saw her jaw set in a firm line, hands splayed out in combat stance.

Angela apparently didn't have the same concerns about it staying in the family, because she said nothing – no order not to interfere, no command to go away, or not to speak like she'd told Fitz, because she didn't care if Skye was involved. Skye wasn't going to stop Ward. No one was – that's not why they were here.

They were here to watch.

This was a showcase.

"You're welcome to try," Ward said, turning towards her, as his skin ignited. Flames raced up his arms, and unlike the last time he'd used his abilities, he didn't seem to fade with the more power he used.

Instead, he grew stronger.

Any trace of sickness was gone – this wasn't the Ward from the medical bay, barely alive and able to stand. This was the Ward she remembered first meeting.

"But you couldn't take me when you had superpowers I was only human – unless you had a gun. So Daisy…gonna shoot me again?" Ward said sardonically. "Take a good look. This is what you would've been if your parents hadn't lost you."

Skye ignored him, ignored the guilty pang that she refused to acknowledge that she'd been lucky enough to stay out of HYDRA's hands as long as she had. Away from SHIELD and anyone else that knew what she was capable of. How Coulson had taken her in and given her a purpose.

"Like we told you – we all have our traumas, Ward – and none of us turned into psychopaths," Skye replied.

"Haven't you?" Ward said, and his eyes flickered a hellish red. "What's your current designation? I'm betting it isn't computer analyst anymore. All it took was a crash course from May and you turned into a sponsored member of SHIELD's approved sociopath club. Want to know how I wound up here?"

Skye didn't really care, and before Ward could say another word, she heaved a kinetic burst towards him as she dove to the side, barely avoiding retaliatory fire from Ward.

Ward hardly twisted to the side to avoid the burst, chuckling darkly. "SHIELD had just as much of a part in me as HYDRA did – Fury wanted Secret Warriors. HYDRA wanted a weapon. I was a goddamn prodigy but unlike someone we know –" Ward cleared his throat, giving her a meaningful look. "I wouldn't play the game. I didn't want to be a part of their plans. Do you know what happens, when you refuse your purpose? When you oppose your mother who thought she was God?"

Ward made a sudden parting motion with his hands, and a ribbon of white hot fire raced along the oxygen saturated path Ward created – right for her. She would've erupted with the concrete floor if she hadn't used her own power to lift herself above it.

"My own mother was afraid of me!" Ward shouted, and she was knocked out of the air by a series of explosions like fireworks. She hit the ground rolling and was almost instantly back on her feet, but she had barely a second before she was dodging another ribbon of fire.

In the back of her head, she knew he was holding back. This was nothing compared to the sheer force he'd been trying to kill his sister with. He wanted her off her feet, too busy running to stop and think and plan any sort of return fire because he knew she wasn't as confident as he was in her abilities. Without her gloves, she was just as likely to shake herself apart as injure him.

"When she couldn't control me, she made Angela do it for her! And you know what?"

Another volley of explosions rocked the floor, making it shake violently beneath her feet as the temperature continued to climb. Sweat poured down her face, down her back and made her hair cling to her forehead, her jacket stick to her skin like she'd just jumped into a pool. She could feel the beginnings of a first degree burn spreading across her exposed skin.

Gonzalez's men continued to standby, weapons at the ready in case she lost, but didn't step in. The fire reflected in their face shields masked their indifference to who the victor was.

"She stole everything from me!" Ward roared, and suddenly refocused back on Angela, turning so fast she hardly registered he now had his back to her as he leveled a blast at the psychic that melted clear through one of the under repair quinjets. "You made me forget what I was! As soon as she realized she couldn't control me like she could you, you took it away from me! You tried to make me like you! You soulless bitch, I should've killed you the second I laid eyes on you!"

Angela's sleeve briefly caught on fire, but she patted it out before it could do any real damage, and she still remained silent. Skye knew what she was capable of – all of them did. They'd witnessed it first-hand. Angela was more than capable of stopping her brother, but she still chose not to say anything.

Angela was playing him as much as Ward had been playing her.

"Ward, we know you're angry-" Coulson tried, and even Skye could hear the reluctance in his voice. He had an ICER pistol in his hand, but he only had it partially raised.

"SHUT UP!" Ward yelled. A quick flick of his wrist and there was another, less impressive volley of flak explosions, sending the gathered crowd ducking out of the way.

And still the temperature climbed.

Only Ward seemed unmindful of the fact that they were basically in an oven being slowly cooked to death, and Skye had to wonder how long Gonzalez was going to let this play out, but then again…he was on fire, and didn't seem effected.

Also strangely enough…neither did Fitz.

Which meant even as enraged as he was, as much power he was forcing into keeping Skye busy and still trying to kill his sister, he could still divide his attention enough to shield Fitz from the effects of the fire.

"I was a kid!" Ward shouted, hurling a ball of fire towards Skye even as she ducked out of the way. "I was a kid! I didn't deserve what she put me through!"

Skye retaliated with a blast of kinetic energy from her hands, but Ward's fire seared a path through it as he charged towards her. She was a fraction of his size, and even though she'd had her powers much longer, had had a chance to practice, Ward's were white hot, fueled by rage and years of pent up aggression and came so fast it was all she could do to get out of his way. Years of life of death combat training were behind him, instead of the crash course she'd received from May and Ward himself. He had tactical knowledge, instinct and his weapon was something tangible and frightening in the most primal of ways.

And it really didn't help that she was starting to understand where that anger came from.

"I didn't deserve any of what happened to me!" Ward yelled, slamming his hand into the ground and sending a shockwave of heat across the floor. Skye managed to focus enough of her energy underneath her that she cleared the rolling flames, appearing to fly for a moment.

The hangar bay was designed to withstand the heat of a class delta fire – something hot enough to burn metal, like magnesium, or contain a possible ordinance misfire from the quinjets, but she could see the air shimmering with heat, could smell brimstone and melting insulation. The bay wouldn't hold much longer, and it seemed like Ward's rage wasn't abating any time soon.

This was a terrible idea, she thought bleakly, and wondered how the hell Gonzalez and Weaver made it sound like a good plan. The only reason she even agreed to be a diversion was to prove to Coulson, prove to Hunter and Bobbie, that Ward was dangerous. He wasn't some poor abused puppy who they could adopt and 'raise up right'. He was a human firestorm, a weapon without conscience, without care and without control.

Instead, he was proving the opposite.

"That's enough!" Gonzalez shouted, and suddenly Angela was on the offensive, running full tilt across the bay, whirling and spinning and diving as if she knew where Ward was going to aim next like an insane dance.

When she saw she was headed straight for Fitz, there wasn't even time to yell out a warning – and she had no idea why she would even be going for him in the first place. Fitz wasn't part of the deal.

Angela grabbed Fitz and shoved him in front of her as a human shield, just as Ward sent a ribbon of white hot flame towards her and Fitz was sure he was going to die until a spark of recognition flickered in his eyes. In an instant, the fire was gone – the vacuum created from the sudden dissipation of oxygen creating an almost comical pop.

Angela's fingers dug into Fitz's shoulders, long nails digging painfully into his skin until he was sure they were talons, not human fingers.

"That's what I thought," she growled, lips almost touching Fitz's ear. "You may hate me, and believe me, brother, I understand. But as much as you want me dead, you wouldn't dare risk your friend."

"I don't know about that, Angela – he did throw him in the ocean," Gonzalez said mildly. "You may not want to test that theory."

Angela laughed, cold and brittle. "Oh, Director, you are so incredibly stupid sometimes…but I know my brother. Don't I, Grant? Fitz is more than a friend – he's the only other human being you've ever had a real connection to, isn't he?"

She dug her nails in deeper, just beneath the curve of his collarbone and he felt her start to squeeze underneath the bone.

"My poor, pathetic brother – I can't even begin to imagine why it matters. Adaline made us into gods, and all you wanted to be was human." She scoffed. "You couldn't even handle one bad deed – the well wasn't even that deep, and it's not like you didn't have another brother if Thomas was too stupid to climb out on his own. How you could possibly be a son of Adaline Ward is a mystery not even she could solve. If you hadn't tried to kill her then, I wouldn't have had to erase the memory of Hellfire from you."

Angela's grip tightened to the point that her nails were drawing blood, but she abruptly fished into Fitz's front pocket, smiling as she found what she was looking for.

"Oh look," she said, practically purring as she held her hand out.

Lying on her open palm, looking foreboding and innocuous simultaneously, was the tiny black remote from Zola's creature shop.

"Looks like you're still on wi-fi, little brother," Angela sneered, and tossed the remote to Gonzalez who caught it deftly in one hand, looking unsurprised. She turned to look over her shoulder at the Director without releasing her grip on Fitz. "My half of the bargain, Director. I assume you liked what you saw."

Just as suddenly as the flames disappeared, with a whoosh like a butane burner igniting, they reappeared over Ward's fist.

"You made a deal with him?" Ward snarled. "I thought you worked alone."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. And that's how I prefer it stay – which was never going to happen with SHIELD and the last heads of HYDRA chasing me across the globe. I wasn't lying when I said I was invited – Gonzalez knew enough about our mother's research to know what you were supposed to be, and he wanted you for SHIELD. Just like the deal he struck with her when you were sixteen – except Garrett took off with you, and no one could get to you. Like Adaline, I know the value of a good deal with the Devil – remove the restriction on you and your Hellfire powers, and they stop chasing me. I get to keep the life I have…and you get to finally be a real Agent of SHIELD."

Even Coulson looked stunned at the revelation. Bobbie's mouth dropped open and Hunter cursed aloud. Even May looked shocked – as much as she ever did, with her ICER pistol lowered and her lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line.

"Why not kill him and be done with it? That's what you're good at, isn't Angela?" Ward spat. "You're willing to run the risk of him going back on his deal? All he needs is a sniper at a couple hundred yards, and you're still dead."

"Haven't you heard the phrase, 'kill two birds with one stone'? I could kill Gonzalez. But I rather like the idea of being paid to do what I already for free. Now I get to do it for fun and profit. And yes – I suppose I could order him to give me money, but that's a headache I'd rather not deal with. Gonzalez and I understand each other. It's mutually assured destruction – I kill him, and I have to go and find another way to alleviate the boredom and still get paid; he kills me, and he loses the best field asset he's ever going to have."

"And you think I'm going to behave?" Ward sneered. "You think that's going to be enough to keep me from killing you? Both of you? That thing has a limited range on it."

This time, it was Gonzalez that answered instead of Angela. "It's good enough right now. Stand down, Agent Ward, or I will put you down."

Ward paused for a moment, before his lip curled upward in a sneer, and he raised his middle finger.

Gonzalez sighed, as if he was pained by the idea of being forced to use just base negotiation tactics such as torture, and hit the button.

Ward yelped in surprise and momentary pain, flinching hard, but that was it – nothing compared to what the remote used to do, and he blinked in surprise, the fire on his hands going out as he rubbed at the back of his head.

He wasn't the only one surprised.

Gonzalez growled, jabbing at the button repeatedly, but nothing happened.

Fitz took the momentary distraction and slammed his elbow backwards, hitting Angela hard enough, just below the xiphoid process, that she doubled over, choking and gasping at the same time releasing her grip on his shoulder.

As soon as her grip loosened, Fitz bolted forwards, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with Ward as he faced down Gonzalez and the others.

Some of them still looked shocked, especially Skye, but Coulson recovered quickly – and what that a smile of pride he saw?

Still red in the face from coughing, Angela ground out, "What the hell did you do?"

And just like that, Fitz could finally speak – her previous silencing command overridden by the question asked.

"You honestly thought I was going to keep that thing working?" Fitz snapped. "I've been trying to rewire it for weeks – ever since I remembered having it. Turns out all I needed were a couple of days without interruption to fix it." He smirked. "Thanks for that vacation in the holding cells, by the way. All Gonzalez did when he pushed the button was short the chip." He grimaced, glancing up at Ward who was staring at him with something akin to awe, a faint smile pulling at the edge of his lips. "Sorry about the zap – I didn't get a chance to perfect it."

He turned back to the team, crossing his arms defiantly across his chest. "He's not a weapon. And you can't use me to control him anymore."

Angela actually looked moderately impressed, but Fitz suspected it was more of her appreciation that he'd managed to pull one over on her than the why he did it. True psychopath that she was, personal feelings didn't play into it.

Gonzalez, on the other hand, looked apoplectic. "You think I needed a remote to control him? You think I needed the chip?" he roared. He reached over to one of the faceless mercenaries in riot gear and pulled the man's sidearm – not an ICER, but a good old fashioned Beretta M-9. "All I needed was you, Fitz! You think just because you destroyed Zola's chip, you can't be used to control him?"

He raised it, pointing it directly at Fitz.

"Think again!"

And fired.

See? Bad guy. I know a fair amount of people liked her (and one guest reviewer who was less than a fan - she was a necessary evil for the plot), but I did say she was a bad guy from the get go.

Sooo...what do you think? Did you see it coming? Did I actually manage to pull one over on a readership? Drop me a line and let me know!

OH. And one more thing: #wardlives