Episode 5: Girl in the Flower Dress

Hong Kong, China

A man stood on a busy street, a small crowd circled around them.
"My grandfather often said that every man is a mystery," he told the crowd. "Some men harbor beautiful secrets." He moved his hands around like a magician would. "Other hide darker ones." He put his hands together and blew into them, almost as if warming them.

When he opened his hands, an egg was there. A young man and woman watching, smiled at each other. "He believed the only way to know a man's true nature is to pierce his outer shell." He took the egg into his right hand, closing his fist around it.
"And gaze within." He made to throw the egg, but instead silver streamers came from his hand.

People were laughing and clapping, but the young man spoke.
"Lame trick."
"They were in the egg," the young woman said. The man looked at his nearly empty tip jar with a worried look. He threw down his streamers then glanced up and looked at someone.

A pretty woman, in a flower pattern dress, smiled at him sweetly. He returned the smile and turned away from the audience. He opened his. Palm and a small ball of flame sat on his hand. He showed this to the woman and her mouth opened in awe.
"This is not a trick," he said slowly.

He turned around quickly, throwing the ball of fire to the young couple. They both quickly tried to protect themselves from the flames, which burned out right before reaching them. The crowd reacted more favorably to his magic as the young couple walked away.

The girl in the flower dressed walked over to the man.
"How did you do that?" she asked.
"A magician never reveals his secrets."
"Then I'll have to pierce your shell and gaze within?"
"You understood." He seemed impress and she gave him a grin and a little nod of her head.

He held his hand out to her, introducing himself.
"Chan Ho Yin." She took his hand and shook it.
"Raina. I would love to see that fire trick again."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Of course not. It's a great idea." She gave him a small smile.

Chan led Raina to his apartment and opened the door.
"I'm sorry for the clutter," Chan said. "I'm in between places."
"How long have you been here?" Raina asked.
"Six years." He ave her a big smile. "Beer?"

Raina nodded and he headed into the kitchen. She turned around and looked at all his stuff on the walls. She set down her table on her purse. Chan came out of the kitchen and handed her a beer. Her eyes were locked over his shoulder.
"You seem to have an appreciation for the greats."

Turning, Chan looked at the wall, smiling at the two posters of Houdini.
"I idolized him for many years."
"And now?" Raina asked.
"There's not real magic there, just tricks."
"And what you do, those aren't tricks?"

The two shared small smiles.
"Show me," Raina said.
"I'm sorry," Chan said, his smile disappearing. "I really shouldn't."
"Says who? What are you afraid of?"
"It's not me who's afraid."

Looking down, Chan opened his hand, a flame appearing once again. Raina gasped as she looked at it.
"That can't be real."
"See for yourself," Chan offered. Raina lifted her hand, putting it close to the fire. When it got too close, she gasped and pulled her hand away.
"How long have you been able to –"
"First time was a few years ago. A dish towel caught fire in my hands. I almost burned down my entire apartment."

As she looked at the flame again, he chuckled.
"And it doesn't hurt?" Raina asked.
"Not even a little." He closed his fist and the flame was extinguished.
"You have a gift," Raina said shyly. "I've never seen anything like it. Why not show the world?"
"I ask the same question every day. There are people who…"

Chan trailed off and he looked at her with interest.
"Never mind. It's just – for years I did illusions, tricks, like the rest. And then this happened. It's real – real magic. If I believed in such things, I would say it was a miracle, that this happened for a reason."
"I believe you've been chosen," Raina said, smiling. He smiled back.
"You do?" Slowly, Raina stepped closer to him.
"Close your eyes." He did so with a little smile on his face. "And I'll show you." A few seconds went by. "That'll do."

Confusion crossed Chan's face and he opened his eyes. Raina was flanked on either side by men in flame resistant hazmat suits. Chan turned to run, and the men followed. They grabbed ahold of Chan, he reached out and grabbed a pair of scissors off the table. After stabbing a man in his right thigh, the one of his left punched him in the gut. Chan looked at Raina during the struggle then saw something heading to his face, knocking him out.

The Bus

Sara walked into the living room of The Bus to find Skye and Ward sitting across from each other. She stopped dead, trying to figure out what they were doing.
"Every decision you make from here on out have consequences," Ward was saying. "So be warned… The kiddie gloves are off."
"G7," Skye said.

A bout of laughter cause the two of them to glance over at her.
"Hit," Ward grumbled as Sara walked over to them. He pulled her onto his lap, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Yes! Ha!" Skye cheered.

After she sobered, Skye glanced at her Battleship board before looking back up at Ward.
"So, explain to me again what this has to do with my training."
"It's important for ever S.O. to evaluate their student's thought process." She gave him an unbelieving look.
Sara giggled, "And he likes board games."
Ward rolled his eyes. "Stop giving away my secrets. B10."
"Nope," Skye said, shaking his head. "This isn't thinking, this is stabbing in the dark. But, it's nice to take a break from the workouts."
"Well, you deserve a break," Ward said.

Both Sara and Skye looked at him surprised.
"I got to give Coulson credit. I would never have pegged an ex-Rising Tide hacker as a good fit, but – you're picking things up pretty fast." She gave him a pleased smile.
"Did you just give me a compliment?"
"I… no, I made a comment."
"A kind one," Skye added.

Ward shrugged and she giggled.
"Did it physically hurt to do that?" She leaned forward with a worried look that caused Sara to laugh. "Do you need an icepack?" Ward chuckled at that and she sat back. "Wow! A compliment and a smile!"
"Comment," he corrected.
"I don't want to ruin the moment, but I'm going to have to respond with… G4."

Looking down at his board, Ward's small grin disappeared while Skye's grin grew. Ward's lips turned down and he sighed.
"Say it, Ward," Skye said. "Say it." His voice was low when he answered.
"You sank my battleship."

Skye laughed and pumped her arms in excitement.
"Yes!" Ward leaned forward and reset his board.
"All right, best 2 out of 3."
"I beat you," she said happily. "But I just won out of nothing."

Sara pulled away from Ward and walked over to May, who was standing nearby.
"She's fitting in nicely," she said with a smile, leaning into May's side.
"Gloating?" May asked.
"Nah, no need."

May smiled before looking down at her.
"You were up early this morning. Heard you walking around even before I started Tai Chi. Having trouble sleeping?"
Sara shrugged, "I guess."
"If you want, I could lay out the mats downstairs. We could go a few rounds, like the old days?"
"I can beat you now though."
May chuckled, "Oh really?"

They both froze as they heard a beep of an alarm. They looked into the Planning Room. Up on the big monitor was a flashing, spinning, red S.H.I.E.L.D. logo.
"Saved by the bell," Sara teased.

Inside the planning room, the whole team had assembled thee. Coulson had a picture of an Asian man up on the table monitor.
"Chan Ho Yin. Just a struggling street performer until a few years ago, when Mr. Chan began to exhibit moderate pyrokinetic abilities."
"So… what gave him powers?" Fitz asked.
"It's still under investigation, but Chan did live near the decommissioned Wan Tai Nuclear Plant when it caught fire. To our knowledge, no other nearby residents have exhibited similar traits."
"So, how did we find out about him?" Simmons questioned.
"Informants have him lighting torches in a street show, with his pinkie," May answered.

Sara clicked her tongue. That would do it.
"Brought it to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention. We told him to keep his abilities under wraps. He's been on The Index ever since," Coulson said.
"The Index?" Skye asked.
"It's a list that S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps of people and objects with powers," Sara answered.
"Wait! What? How many are there? Are you saying there are more people –"
"Not many," Sara said, shaking her head.
"Well, enough to keep a list," Skye pointed out.
"A short list, meant to protect them," Coulson said. "Though, in rare cases S.H.I.E.L.D. has had to take action," Ward said.

Skye looked up at them.
"Action against objects or people?" The looks she got gave her the answers that she needed. "Well, that's drastic with a side of creepy. How are they monitored? Tapped phone lines, satellite surveillance, body probes in dark, unpleasant places?" Coulson, May, Ward and Sara remained stoic, but Simmons grimaced.
"Body probes?" Fitz asked confused. "That's ridiculous. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't do that."

Fitz glanced at Coulson, shaking his head.
"We don't do that, do we?" Fitz asked. Coulson remained stone faced.
"The methods vary." Skye gave him a "are you kidding me" look. "Mr. Chan was low risk," he said. "He was assigned a case agent who checked in with him every few days."

May clicked at buttons on a tablet and the feed on the monitor behind Coulson changed.
"That's how we discovered him missing." May began to speak in Cantonese as an Asian agent appeared on the screen.
"Hello Agent Kwan, how are you?" He responded in English.
"Not as good as I could be."
"Everyone," May said. "This is Agent Kwan, Chan Ho Yin's case agent."

Fitz-Simmons and Skye waved.
"What can you tell us?" May asked.
"Not much, I'm afraid. Chan is a magician, so at first, I thought he'd made himself disappear."
"The file says you'd caught him violating his Index Agreement before," Coulson said.

The camera showed Kwan in Chan's apartment. "On two separate occasions. Claimed we were "hampering his artistic expression". But last night, he was taken by professionals. The only thing they left behind was this scrap of aluminized material."

Sara and Simmons leaned closer to the monitor as Kwan held up an evidence bag to the camera.
"Fireproof clothing," Simmons remarked.
"So, whoever took him knew about his power," Sara said.
"Yes, and we think we know why. Over the last few days, tech division discovered a crack into our data stream. It's the same cyber punks who hacked us before."

Skye's eyes went down to the table for a moment as Kwan continued.
"Somehow, they got in again. It's the Rising Tide." Everyone at the table looked directly at Skye. "Hello?" Kwan called after a moment of silence. They continued to stare at her, not saying anything. "It got really quiet… You guys still there?"

Inside Coulson's office, he sat behind his desk with Skye sitting in front of him. Ward and Sara were standing off to the side.
"The Rising Tide is a huge organization of hacktivist from all around the world. Any of them could have done this," Skye said. "It wasn't me." "
No one's saying it was," Ward told her.
"But you're thinking it!" she snapped. "I can see your faces thinking it."
"We're assessing the situation," Coulson said.
"Then I'm sure you're taking into account that I have been living on a plane with you this whole time. It would be impossible for me to hack S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Or easier," Coulson corrected. "We're gonna need more than that."
"Fine. Let me trace the hack and I'll prove it."

Coulson leaned forward on his desk, but Sara spoke before he did.
"I believe her, sir. And if she's telling the truth, we need to track down the person responsible." Coulson stood, crossing his arms.
"Dig up something," he told Skye. "And fast. The longer Mr. Chan is missing, the more danger he's in."

Secret Lab

Chan lay on a bed and started to stir.
"Good morning, Chan," Raina told him. The man snapped awake and quickly scrambled away from her. He turns to face her and takes a fighting stance for a moment.

Once he got a look at where he was, his stance relaxed slightly.
"What the hell?" he snapped.
"I apologize for last night," she said softly. Raina walked deeper into the room. "It was important I bring you in under the radar."
"Oh, S.H.I.E.L.D. Tell Agent Kwan I don't need to be read the Power Protocols again. It was just a street performance, it's not like I set anyone on fire."
"I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I come as a friend."
"English isn't my first language," Chan told her. "But that word means something different than you think."

Raina smiled at him.
"I understand your frustration, but I believe you have a gift. And, if you let me, I'd like to help you nurture it. I can increase it. You'll get people's attention then."
"Increase my power? Why?" Chan questioned. "What's the catch?"
"I'd like to run some tests."
"There it is," he snapped. "Now, will you let me go, or must I fight my way out?"

Sadly, she lowered her eyes.
"Leave now and I'll forget you, I promise. But, so will everyone else." Chan gathered up his shoes and walked to the door. He turned to look at her after a moment. "Stay and you can be remembered, known the world over," Raina finished.
"You want to make Chan Ho Yin a famous name?"
"No," Raina shook her head.
"You need a simpler name. A – a more powerful name. A name like… Scorch."

Chan scoffed, his face remaining placid.
"Scorch? Are you joking?"
"Have you ever heard of Steve Rogers?" His face remained blank. "No. But Captain America, now, he's on the news, and on lunchboxes, on a poster on the wall."
"I don't want to be a superhero."
"You want to be recognized for your gift. And who is more recognizable than them?"
"I was given his power for a reason. I just want people to see what I can do."
"They will. All I want is what you want. For you to be remembered."

Raina moved closer to him.
"To be seen for what you're meant to be… a star."
"Scorch." Chan stood taller and started nodding his head. "It's growing on me." She gave him a smile and small laugh.

The Bus

Skye worked on her tablet above the table monitor while Fitz watched. He seemed completely enamored by what she was doing. Simmons was also watching nearby. Sara had her head leaning against Ward's arm while he stood beside May. Coulson walked in.
"How close are we?" Coulson questioned.
"Almost there," Skye said.
"She's identified the remote access Trojan and the infected endpoint," Fitz said.
"Yeah," Simmons agreed. "And is searching for the TCP to correlate the hypertext with a signature information and then…"
"Bob's your uncle," Fitz finished cheerfully.
"Voila!" Simmons added.

Coulson looked over at Ward.
"You get any of that?"
"Only the uncle part," Ward said. Sara scoffed at them.
"It means that she's searching for where the leak would have come from, using the Wi-Fi." Ward's mouth dropped in mock awe.
"Wow. However did you figure that out?" She elbowed him and he winched.

Skye looked up at them.
"We got our origin – Austin, Texas." She pulled up a map on the table monitor.
"You got a name?" Coulson questioned.
"Just the café our hacker worked out of, but I'm in the system. I'm gonna check to see if any credit card charges from that day match up any known hackers."

There came a beeping noise from her tablet.
"We got a hit," Skye said. A picture was brought up.
"Miles Lydon, not Skye," Fitz said. "That's to all our relief." Sara squeaked and stumbled further back into Ward. His arms encircled her waist. Coulson looked at Fitz.
"You know him?"
"Every hacker in the world knows him," Skye said.
"Not just the hacker world," Simmons said. "He infiltrated the Kremlin."
"Yeah, the picture of, uh, Putin shirtless on horseback, that was his hack," Fitz chuckled. He casted a small glance at his sister who had turned pale.

Ward glared at the scientists.
"It was also his hack that got Chan kidnapped." May pulled out her tablet, punching things in.
"May, set a course for Austin," Coulson commanded.
"Just did."
"What about Chan?" Skye asked.
"Kwan's got a S.H.I.E.L.D. team on the ground. Our best bet is to chase this thing from the other end. Find Mr. Lydon, bring him in, see what he knows."

Zipping up his jacket, Ward looked down at Sara who was lacing up her shoes.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" he questioned. She didn't look up.
"Yep." Her voice was strained.
"Sara…"
"I can do it." He sat down beside her, pulling up her shirt slightly.
"He did this to you," he reminded her, tracing the scars lightly.

Sara shivered as his cool fingers met her skin.
"Ward, please," she whispered. "I can handle it and you'll be there so he can't hurt me." Ward dipped his head, brushing against her lips. She gripped his shirt collar, pulling him closer.

When she pulled away, he rested his head against hers.
"I love you," he murmured. She smiled as he brushed his lips against hers again.
"I love you too," she whispered. He pulled away, yanking on a small piece of her hair. "Hey!" She hit his shoulder as she stood. He grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles.
"One day, my ring is gonna be right there," he teased, playing with her fingers.
"Oh really?" she teased back. She stood on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his check.
"Oh really," he agreed, pulling her back for another kiss.

Austin, Texas

Skye walked along a sidewalk, talking in her earpiece.
"Just left the café where Miles logged in," she said. "Cashier said she hasn't seen him in over a week." Ward responded over the earpiece.
"Sara and I may have eyes on him."

Ward and Sara stood on a street corner and he looked to his right. They could see Miles standing there. Ward turned his head just as Miles turned and saw Ward. Miles stopped chewing as he looked at Ward. He threw a glance at Miles, who immediately started to run. Sara and Ward hurried to follow.
"We've been made. Heading east on 5th street."

The area opened up to a parking lot and they saw him getting into the car.
"Target is now in a sliver Jetta." People crowded around Ward and was unable to get close. A black SUV with lights on top and a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the door pulled up.
"I got him," Coulson said.

The SUV followed after Miles. Miles tried a couple of different ways to lose Coulson, but was not successful.
"All right, suit," Miles said. "You asked for it." His phone was plugged into some sort of docking station on his car. He hit a button that said " 4". There was a beeping noise. "Gridlock protocol," Miles said.

A computer code came up on his phone, running a program. Suddenly, all the lights in town turned green, in all directions. Cars were hoking as everyone was trying to go at once. Coulson approached an intersection, but was blocked by a big truck that was about to run into a bus. They all stopped, avoiding collision, but also boxing in Coulson. Coulson let out a sigh, then the SUV was hit form the rear.
"I lost him," Coulson snapped angrily.

Locking his apartment door behind him, Miles looked out the peephole. He heard a woman's voice, and quickly looked over. Skye stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, looking upset.
"You sure they're not following you?" Skye asked.
"Yeah, had to pull out all the stops though." Miles walked deeper into the apartment. "Thanks for the text… Wait, are you mad?"

Skye glared at him.
"Are you kidding me? I don't have much time. Who did you leak those files to?"
"Wait a sec, what? "Good to see you too, Miles". I released them into the world where they belong."
"They'll keep hunting you unless they have someone else to look for. And, why the hell would you hack S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Because that's what we do," Miles reminded her.
"Not when I'm on the inside," she snapped. "You couldn't ruined everything, you dumbass."
"Seems like you handled it."
"I've come too far for you to –"

She trailed off as she noticed the grin on Miles' face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" He walked closer to her, still smiling.
"Did you just call me a "dumbass"?"
"Stop smiling, I'm serious," Skye snapped. She had to look away to keep from smiling back at him.
"Because I taught you everything you know, so what does that make you?" Miles questioned.
"No, you didn't."
"I'm sorry," Miles said softly. "I can't help it. I've been missing you like crazy."

Miles reached out and grabbed her. He pulled her in close and they shared a passionate kiss. They started tugging at each other's clothing. He lifted her up and she giggled as he walked them into his bedroom.

Sara picked at the muffin she had purchased at the café. Ward was sipping on his latte while he watched the street. Coulson had told them to stay put while May went after Skye. Fitz had mentioned to Ward that Sara hadn't been eating so Ward had decided to wait at the café for their new orders.

Ward glanced at the muffin that had a single bite taken out of it. He would have pushed it, but he didn't want to get into a fight. Not now. Her fingers were tapping nervously on the table, he reached forward and laced his fingers in hers.

Looking up, Sara met his eyes for a moment.
"I'm not hungry," she said, reading his face. She looked away again and he sighed.
"Sara…"
"May has found her." Coulson's voice interrupted them.
"Saved by the bell," he muttered. He released her hand as they stood.
"Sending you the address now."

Skye sat on the bed, pulling the straps of the bra back up on her shoulders. Miles sat with his back against the headboard. She pulled the small SD card she took from her van out of her bra, holding it up to check for damage before tucking it back.
"That's where you keep that, huh?" Miles asked.
"Better safe than busted."
"Making any progress?"
"I'm digging," Skye said. "But, your little stunt is gonna make it harder."

With a deep sigh, she looked around the room.
"Where's my top?"
"You know," Miles began while she looked around. "I could be helping you. If you send me cipher text, I could be working on algorithms –" Skye shook her head vigorously.
"No, I can't contact you. I never should've. There's a S.H.I.E.L.D. team looking for you right now… my team. And, if they suspect something, I'm screwed."

Leaning up, Miles gave her a playful smile.
"There's a joke here that I'm resisting." Skye laughed and looked away. "That involves the word "screwed"."
"Shut up," Skye mumbled. "There's a guy in trouble because of you and I got to get back. So, if you want to help me, find my clothes."

Miles went after her as she got off the bed. He grabbed her wrist.
"Hey. I'm sorry, Skye. Really, I am, if I messed anything up. I've missed you."
"Me, too," Skye nodded. "But we talked about this when I left for L.A. I've got a chance here. So, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s off limits, okay?"
"Okay," Miles agreed.

Skye released his hands and looked for her clothes.
"At least tell me what it's like," Miles said. "Come on, the belly of the beast." Bending down, he checked for her clothes under the bed.
"Surprisingly… unbeastly. I've got good people I've working with… A young woman named, Sara Reyes-Fitz, you know her?"
"Maybe," Miles shrugged. "They've got some good stories, though, I hope?" He threw her pants at her.

Catching them, she laughed.
"Miles, you have no idea. But, that's classified." She gave him a big grin.
"You did not just say that to me," Miles smirked. She laughed again and he gave her a big smile. "Come on, you got to tell me something."
"Someday," she promised."

Miles nodded, smiling at her.
"Well, if they ever let you go on leave or whatever, let me know and I'll get us a suite at the… fancy hotel that has suites and you can regale me with stories while naked."
She giggled, "A suite? You? That's funny. But they're never gonna let me go on anything if I don't find my stupid –"

Opening the door out of the bedroom, Skye came face to face with a very stoic faced May. May lifted up Skye's shirt, holding it out to her.
"Top," Skye finished. "Get dressed," May said, her voice dark. A guilty looking Skye took the shirt from May.

Coulson stood in Miles' apartment, looking at a file. May was watching over Miles in his bedroom while Skye sat on the couch in the living room. Fitz-Simmons were on Miles' computer. Sara was leaning against a wall, her posture seemingly relaxed. May closed the bedroom door and Skye looked up at Coulson.
"I know how this looks –" He put her off by holding up one finger.

Growing quiet, Skye looked down as he finished reading the folder. He closed it and turned to address her.
"How long have you two been in contact?"
"I contacted him once, the day I joined to tell him I was okay, and once earlier today."
"When you tipped off an active suspect?" Coulson questioned.
"No, it's not like that. Miles and I, we met when we were both a little screwed up… Scratch that, he was a little screwed up, I was a lot. But we looked after one another. That's why I warned him, not because we're working together on this, but because we're… friends."

Coulson didn't make any movement, he stood staring at her with a stone face.
"I'm really sorry," Skye said. Her face was filled with apology, but Coulson's face didn't soften.
"Noted," Coulson said. "If not you, then who is Mr. Lydon working with?"
"No one," Skye said. "He's an idealist, believes in freedom of information."
"That information cost a man his freedom and you sabotaged our attempts to remedy that."
"No, I came here to find out what Miles knows about Chan."
"And?"
"Nothing," Skye shook her head. "Miles is a dead end. He's harmless."
"We'll see."

As he started to turn away, she spoke faster with worry.
"Really, I was gonna find out everything I could to try to help." Coulson tensed up, and bit his lip, finally showing some emotion. "I just… I felt like I couldn't tell you guys everything."
"I know. That's why I asked May to follow you." She looked down and away from him. "Seems that wasn't a dead end."

Coulson walked away from her and she gazed over at Ward. Ward refused to look at her. He continued to leave through papers that belonged to Miles. Fitz had watched what happened over his shoulder and turned to whisper to Simmons.
"Why would Skye do this to us for him?" he asked. "I thought she was our friend."

Simmons shot a look to Skye then back to Fitz.
"I think she is, Fitz," she nodded. "But he's just obviously more than that."
"Yeah, but we've been through so much together and she didn't even tell us that she has a guy."
"Well, who knows what they've been through together." Fitz gave him a look then went back to working on the computer.

Inside Miles' bedroom, he sat on the bed, his wrists in handcuffs as May questioned him.
"That classified information you stole from us, who did you give it to?"
"It's information. It has a life of its own."
"What happened to Mr. Chan?"
"I don't know who that is, so why don't you tell me?"

There was a loud clatter and glass breaking coming from outside his bedroom door, his attention was drawn to the commotion.
"So, are you guys just going to destroy all my stuff."
"Yes," May nodded.

The door opened and Coulson entered.
"Anything?" he asked. May looked at him and shook her head.
"I don't have to talk to you," Miles snapped. Coulson shot him a look then glanced at May again.
"Take him in." May grabbed Miles by the arm, pulling him up off the bed and walked him back out into the living room."

Sara ducked behind Fitz as May pulled Miles out of room. Coulson addressed the rest of his agents.
"Gather all the evidence and secure the prisoners. We got what we were looking for here. We're going to Hong Kong." Fitz-Simmons began to gather their gear and Ward set down what he was looking at.

As Ward walked over to her, Skye looked up at him.
"I'm so sorry, Ward. This is not what it looks like." He remained stoic just as Coulson did.
"Hands." She lifted both of her hands into the air and Ward put handcuffs on her wrists. "Now get up."

Ward turned and walked out of the room. Skye sighed as she stood, following after. When she passed by Sara, the agent stopped her. She quickly fixed Skye's shirt.
"Thank you," Skye whispered.
"You're welcome." Sara stepped out of the way, allowing Skye to follow Ward.

Secret Lab

Raina and Chan stood in in the middle of a lab.
"What is this place, Raina?" Chan asked. He looked over at a group of doctors.
"And who are these guys?"
"They'll assist you with anything you need," Raina told him. He turned away, looking at a monitor set up in the room. "We're here to monitor your vitals while we observe your powers," Raina continued. "And it's big because we need the space."

Chan gave her a little grin and she pointed over at a lab worker. He was using a needle to extract some sort of liquid out of a vial.
"This serum strengthens the cytoskeleton within each cell of your body. You'll feel incredible… until it wears off."
"And it will wear off?" Chan asked.
"Yes," Raina sighed. "But the effects in average subjects have been impressive. In you, I'm excited to see."

The man holding needle now stood next to Chan.
"What do you think of the name "Scorch"?" Chan asked him. The tech said nothing, just jabbed the needle into Chan's arm, injecting the serum. Chan gasped and made a face of pain, then closed his eyes.
"Breathe," Raina said. He exhaled slowly and then smiled. "Feel it?" Raina asked. He nodded as his smile grew. "Now, let's see what you can do."

Chan put his arm out and opened his hand. Once again, the little flame of fire was above his palm, but this time it was bigger, he started at it in shock for a moment.
"Whoa." He looked over at Raina, who gave him a smile and a nod of her head. He transferred the flame from one hand to another. He pulled his arm back and threw the flame towards a lab tech who ducked out of the way.

They heard a loud crash and he chuckled a big.
"Oh, sorry! You almost got scorched." He laughed a bit more and Raina had a satisfied smile on her face. "This is incredible!" He turned and looked at Raina. "You're a beautiful angel, you know that?"
She flushed, "Your power is an amazing gift."
"And S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't let me use it," he grumbled. "But thanks to you, the whole world can finally see what I can do. From now on, nobody holds me back!" He made another fireball, throwing it cheerfully.