Episode 11: The Magical Place
Pt. 2

Skye sat at Rathman's desk as he typed at his computer.
"You want me to hack into a Swiss bank account?" he questioned.
"I just need you to type in your private corporate ID to get me in the door."
"Yeah, well letting you in that door is a crime. Come to think of it, how do I know you're not just some criminal? IN my experience, a Federal Agent shows a badge."
"You want to see my badge?" He nodded and she picked up his phone. "S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol six alpha victor."

Due to her bracelet, it beeped, and she turned her alarm towards him. The S.H.I.E.L.D logo and a lockout screen came up and he took it from her with a disappointed sigh.
"Great, just got my high score in Tiny Wings."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been watching you for quite some time, Mr. Rathman."

Walking around the desk, she stood in front of him.
"You're a prime exploit—the gambling, the divorces, that money pit in the Caymans. You're even behind on your child support payments."
"That's a clerical thing. My ex knows that."
"But does David know that?"
"David thinks I'm a cool dad."
"David thinks you're a jackass," she corrected. "You got to fix that, Lloyd. Kids need someone they can look up to. Now…. Start typing."

The door burst open, and a guard rushed in.
"Security! Freeze! Don't move!" Skye put her hands. "That's it. Nice and easy. Keep your hands where I can—" Easily, Skye disarmed the man with a move that Ward had taught her. A second guard appeared just as she got the first one to the ground. She jumped to her feet, holding the first guard's gun. She looked to Rathman whose eyes had gone wide.
"Okay, I-I'm typing, I'm typing. You S.H.I.E.L.D. guys don't mess around." She smirked at him, tossing her hair back.

Raina walked over to Coulson with a glass of water.
"This is turning into an interesting day, isn't it?" she asked. He took the glass from her but didn't drink right away.
"So, you're my friend now?" Raina cocked her head in confusion. "Cause I've seen what you do to your friends."
"Ah, Mr. Po?"
"Yeah."
"He was a murderer incapable of remorse."

Turning, she faced a computer.
"I was thinking of Mike Peterson and Chan Ho Yin," Coulson said. She looked over at him for a split second.
"I gave them what they asked for. Mike wanted to be a hero to his son. Now he is."
"Did Akela Amador want a bomb in her head?"
"The people you work for as just as capable of using cruel means to reach a justified end."
"And who do you work for, Raina? The Clairvoyant?"
"Yes."
"Who is he?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. Today was the first time I personally made contact."

She inhaled deeply and happily, almost like she was on a high from the excitement.
"My heart's still racing," she practically coed.
"He has you building super-soldiers?"
"The Clairvoyant gives us guidance, formulas."
"For what?"
"The changing world. The world your organization brought upon us. We're new to the business of what you've been doing for decades."
"So now what? You have soldiers? You can make them strong; you can control them. In an instant, you can kill them."
"Yes, but we can't bring them back to life… You were killed."

Moving in closer, she tilted her head to the side again.
"Now, you're here. We want to know how. Don't you?" He took a sharp breath and looked down. "I'd like to turn the machine on again." His head shot up, worry evident and his face. "It induces Theta brain-wave frequencies to help uncover the secrets buried in the subconscious. If you cooperate, you can surf those waves."
"I've gone surfing, that is definitely not like surfing."
"You've been resisting. Fight the waves and you'll drown. Your brain will cook. You'll stop breathing, again."
"Then what's what it'll be, or I'll hold out until my team comes to find me. Either way, you will not get classified intel from me."
"I'm not interested in those secrets," Raina informed him. "The Clairvoyant can see within any agency, any government. He knows what the President dreams about at night. I want what you want, to uncover a different secret… the secret that S.H.E.L.D. is keeping from you. And you're thing to the one thing you have, fond memories of your recovery."

Coulson frowned at her.
"So, this person you work for told you I died and have gaps in my memory. Ever think your mind reader might just be looking up symptoms online?"
"I was also told it keeps you up at night, that you crave answers, that you're troubled by the fact that when you asked for answers, you were denied."

Smiling, Coulson chuckled a bit.
"Isn't that true?" Raina asked. He pushed himself off the bed.
"I trust the system. They keep secrets for a reason."
"But why would S.H.I.E.L.D. keep details of your death from you? They're your family, your only family besides your daughter."

His head shot up and he looked over at her. The fact that he was Sara's father was only known to a select few, mostly his team and a few of the higherups. Fury had chosen to keep it that way to keep people from calling favoritism while she was in the Academy.
"Now, after all you've sacrificed…"
"Sacrifice is part of the job. I would give my life—"
"You didn't just give your life, you gave up your chance at a normal one, at love. And she did love you, Agent Coulson."

A few tears welled up in Coulson's eyes. How the hell did Raina know about her?
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"Do you miss her? Dinners at the Richmond. Do you miss hearing her play? How about the things you've missed with Sara? I mean, you didn't raise her, but once she reentered your life, you seemed pretty close."

She walked closer to him.
"You didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to either of them."
"I-I couldn't. I-I can't."
"You know, she cried for days after Sara told her you died. SHIELD shattered both their hearts with a lie, and now they're lying to you."
"No. No, they're not."

He looked away from her, staring at the floors.
"I know you don't want to believe it," Raina murmured gently. "But you can't tell me nothing makes you doubt, makes you wonder what happened in Tahiti."
"It's a magical place—"

The last word was stuttered out as he realized that every time someone mentioned Tahiti he gave the same response.
"I keep saying that."
"Don't you want to know why?" Taking a deep breath, Coulson stepped closer to the machine.
"Turn it on."

Skye paced in front of the Rathman, ignoring the guards that she had tied to chairs.
"All right, we're logged in, but you do realize you can't transfer these kinds of funds online," Rathman said.
"I'm not looking to transfer funds. I'm looking for transaction records."

Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Go to your account history. We need to open up a terminal emulator, see what kind of encryption they've got."
"Okay."
"If it's an SSL 256 or AES Twofish Serpent, we're in business."
"Yeah."
"Quantum key, that's another story."
"Right."

The man was staring at the computer screen, not doing anything.
"Lloyd? What's happening here?"
"Yeah, account history," he said slowly. "Where is that?" Letting out a frustrated sigh, Skye looked to the younger guard that she had tied up.

Untying him, she had him switch places with Rathman.
"Delete that second line," she said when he pulled up lines of text. "Press return." From across the room, Rathman leaned in close to the other guard.
"See, the thing is, I have an assistant that does all this for me."

There was a beep and Skye practically beamed.
"That's it!" All across the screen were wires and deposits from Vanchat's financial records.
"So, this Vanchat, is this the guy you're trying to bust?" the guard at the computer asked.
"No, we already have him in custody. What I want to know is who's recently paid Vanchat a lot of money. I backtrack those payments to the buyer's account and get a record of all purchases she's made, maybe use it to track her down… click there."

The guard heighted a line and clicked on it.
"Hello Raina," Skye said. "Let's see what you've been up too. Print that please."
"Great, so are we done here?" Rathman asked.
"One last thing." She looked to where his keys were hanging up and a pleading look appeared on his face.
"Not the car."
"Thank you very much."

May, Ward, Sara, and Fitz-Simmons stood around one of the tables as several other scientists worked in the background. Fitz was working on a smallish deice that looked like a large wristwatch. Sara had an image pulled up on the screen.
"The Centipede soldiers each had a port on their delivery device to inject refills of serum," she was saying. She nodded to Fitz' device. "But with the injector cuff, we can use the port to your advantage."

Leaning over Fitz, Simmons injected a small vial into the device.
"By injecting a refined dose of Dendrotoxin io incapacitate the soldiers," Simmons said.
"How does it work?" Ward asked. Sara reached for his arm, and he held it out for her.
"Well, just simply lock it around the Centipede soldiers forearm," Simmons said as Sara clasped the band around Ward's forearm and a needle appeared.
"Night-night superpowers," Fitz grinned.
"Sounds like riding a bull for eight seconds."
"Yeah, exactly, it's that simple," Fitz nodded.

Rolling her eyes, Sara hit her brother upside the head. Clearly, he had never ridden a bull before, or he wouldn't have called it simple.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Fitz complained. She didn't answer as her attention was diverted to Simmons' phone ringing.
"Hello?" the scientist asked. "Well, hello… Dr. Nugent."

Her voice changed abruptly causing May to roll her eyes.
"Manscaping? Oh, is shouldn't have said that. Um, I am as right as rain. Couldn't be better, old chap." May turned to the other lab techs.
"You three, out." They scurried out as quickly as they could as May took the phone from Simmons. "Skye? What have you found?"

Hand frowned as May informed her on what they had learned from Skye.
"We're about to launch a major assault on a Centipede lab and you want to take your team to the desert based on a hunch from Skye?"
"It's not a hunch," Ward argued.
"Yeah," Fitz agreed. "Skye followed the money from Vanchat back to Centipede."
"Turns out they recently purchased a small development less than 100 miles from here," Simmons added.
"Well, that's great news for their real-estate portfolio, but we have confirmed activity in the lab. I'm taking a strike team to investigate. End of story."
"So, we spilt up," May said. "You take the strike team and go after Centipede. We'll investigate Skye's lead, see if Coulson's there."

Turning to her, Hand crossed her arms.
"You backed my decision to kick Skye off the plane."
"Seems like it worked out." "Seems like you played me."
"Look, this isn't personal," Ward said. "But I'm taking my team and we're gonna find Coulson." May shot him a look that he ignored. "Send backup if you want." He walked away and Hand looked to Sara.
"Your stubbornness is rubbing off, Reyes-Fitz." Sara chose not to answer, biting her tongue. She didn't need the trouble or the write-up. She knew Fury would ignore it, but still. She gave the woman a slight head-nod and followed her team.

Coulson lay inside of the device, looking at Raina.
"What makes you so sure this machine will even work?"
"It worked on me," she answered as she walked to the computer.
"One thing before we start…" She looked back at him in confusion.
"What's with the flowers?" Her expression changed to a sly smile.
"Who doesn't like flowers? I'm glad you noticed. Close your eyes and relax."

Pulling his head straight, Coulson closed his eyes as Raina sat at the computer.
"I want you to think back to your first memory after you died… What do you see?"

Coulson sat on a comfortable chair, the massage therapist behind him.
"Sandy beach, blue ways, just as I remember."
"Focus on the details." The massage therapist leaned in close to Coulson.
"Can you feel that?"
"Don't stop." A man carrying drinks entered the cabana and Coulson smiled at him.

Suddenly, a different man spoke.
"Listen to him!" Coulson had never heard the voice before in his memories. He looked down and saw a doctor in a lab coat, on he recognized.
"Who ordered this?" the doctor shouted.
"W-what?"
"Direct Fury himself," the Massage Therapist said.

Hearing a noise outside, Raina ordered the guard with her to go check it out. She turned back to Coulson.
"Agent Coulson, something's happening, isn't it?"

"Listen to him!" the doctor said. He quickly turned back into the guy carrying drinks, then back to the doctor.
"Coulson, I need you to look at your surroundings." The sun morphed into a blinding overhead light, like one used in surgery The Massage Therapist morphed into a female doctor wearing surgical scrubs.
"I can't take it anymore. I can't take it!" Coulson was saying.
"Try to describe what you see," Raina ordered. "Are you still in Tahiti? Tell me?"
"It's dark. There's nothing. Everything is dark," Coulson managed to pant out.

Skye drove down a dirt road and entered a town.
"Got creepy," she said, seeing mannequin people all around. She walked deeper into the town and looked into one of the noises A dinner scene was set up and she frowned in utter confusion.
"You shouldn't be here," a voice said.

Gasping, Skye turned around to see one of the Centipede soldiers standing behind her. She took off running with him just behind.
"There's nowhere to run!" the soldier shouted. She didn't listen, running past the edge of a building into the open.

All of a sudden, a S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV hit the soldier. Skye grinned to see Ward behind the wheel with May sitting shotgun. The team got out of the car, staring at the town around them.
"Coulson's got to be here somewhere," Skye said. "We need to split up." Simmons looked over her shoulder and paled slightly.
"Or run." A Centipede solider was fast approaching.
"I'll take of him," Ward said.
"You sure?" Sara asked.
"I got this," he said. He pulled the wristwatch device from his vest.

He ran towards the soldier as May led the rest of the team away.
"Come on, let's move!" she shouted. Skye ran to the door of a house, pushing it open.
"Coulson!" she yelled. May ran into another house, looking inside. She ducked out of the way as a solider ran out the door with a gun. May took out him at the knees as a other solider appeared from the house.

Ward grunted as the solider he was fighting threw him into a car, shattering the window. The solider punched at Ward, who moved away at the last second, the soldier's fist embedding in the metal of the car. Ward bashed the soldier against the car a few times until he determined that the soldier was weakened and pulled out the device.

Before he could put it on the soldier, the man recovered enough to het to his feet and fight him again. HE threw Ward a good distance and then yanked his arm, taking the door off its hinges. He threw it at Ward and then went to pick up Ward again.

The Agent got to his feet and threw a punch at the soldier, who easily got Ward onto his back on the ground. Ward ducked away from a punch and shoved the tiny vial from the device into the soldier's mouth. He managed to get it broken and blue lines started to form around the soldier's mouth as he remained frozen. Ward got to his kènes and watched the soldier fall over dead.
"Now, Coulson, where the hell are you?" Ward grumbled, getting to his feet.

Coulson's memories can in fragments. Fury looked down at Coulson then a zippered went over Coulson's head. An IV bag of saline solution was mixing something dark blue.
"He's drifting," a doctor said. "He's drifting." All around Coulson were symbols, flying around outer space. Coulson gasped away, eyes blinded by the light in the surgical room. "This is wrong," the doctor said.
"Can you feel that?" the female doctor asked Coulson.
"Don't."
"Listen to him," the doctor said.
"Stop."
"Who ordered this?"
"Director Fury himself," the female said.
"This is wrong!"

Gasping, Coulson's eyes went wide. He could barely make out his reflection and a sharp shock went through his head. A device with small robotic arms was working directly onto his brain, sparks of electricity being delivered into his brain.
"Let me die, please. Please, please," Coulson begged. "I'm begging you, let me die." He repeated the words like a mantra, but no one responded.

Sara was about to run into another building when she heard someone scream. She followed the direction of the sound and pushed open the door. She saw Raina leaning over Coulson.
"It's for his own good," Raina said.
Sara nodded, "I know you believed that so I'm sorry." She punched Raina in the face, causing the woman to drop to the ground.
"Please, let me die!" Coulson was screaming. "Please let me die!"

Taking one look at the device, Sara hurried to the computer to figure out how to shut it down while he continued yelling. May and Skye rushed into the room and May yanked the cords out of the machine.
"Oh my god," Sara whispered. "May, that could kill him."

Leaning over Coulson, Sara took hold of the man's hand, holding it tightly.
"Coulson, Coulson," she repeated. "It's okay. It's okay." He was unresponsive, shaking and crying. She gently touched his forehead just as his breathing started to ease. "Come back to me," she whispered, squeezing his hand.
"Sara? Sara?" She let out a relieved breath as his eyes opened, focusing on her.

Leaning against Ward, Sara watched as Raina was led away by several agents. Hand walked towards them, speaking to Coulson.
"Just got off the phone with Headquarters. Director Fury was very relieved."
"I understand you've been busy," Coulson said. "Heard you put some miles on my plane."
"The manhunt has yielded some impressive results. Centipede operatives have been taken down around the globe."
"Any word on the Clairvoyant?" Coulson asked.
"Nothing yet," Hand said. "But it's gonna be awfully hard to stay hidden now that the Clairvoyant's on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar."
"Good, cause Raina knew things about me—personal things. I want to know how."
"My men and I are taking her straight to Headquarters for questioning. We'll be in touch."

The woman turned to go, but Coulson called her back.
"Agent Hand?" She looked back at him. "Thank you… for everything." He held out his hand and she shook it.
"Good to have you back. Honestly, this Bus isn't really my style." She gave Sara a strange look then walked away.

Coulson turned to the rest of the team.
"I just want to say…" He faltered for a second. "Thank you." He looked at each of them, everyone smiling except may who just wore a lesser stem expression. "Now get back to work." Ward chuckled, shaking Coulson's hand before dragging Sara away for a much-needed break.

Skye was the last person to leave the room and she stepped closer to him.
"I heard what you did for me," Coulson said. She gave him a slow nod of her head. "I think it's time that we remove this." He picked up her arm with the bracelet and a smile broke out across her face. "Disengage bracelet." The bracelet beeped a couple of times then opened.
"Are you kidding me?" Skye asked, rubbing at her bare wrist happily.
"Thought you'd like that." She grinned at him, and he grinned back.

Sara alone in the living-room late at night, scrolling through her tablet. It was dark except for the device in her hands.
"Sara?" Coulson asked, coming down from his office. "Didn't know you'd still be up."
She shrugged, "Haven't been sleeping well." He sat down next to her.
"Same here."

Looking over at him, Sara pulled of the glasses that were pushed up her nose.
"Haven't seen you wear those," Coulson remarked.
"Readers," she said. "Don't like them much." She gave him a look. "Back in that room, did they learn anything?"
"No."
"Did you?" He didn't answer right away, and she folded her arms across her chest. "I heard what you were saying, Coulson."
"It wasn't real. They were just messing with my head… but I appreciate your concern."
"Well, I am your kid, oughta have some concern for you, old man." He chuckled quietly, pushing himself up from the couch.
"Try to get some sleep, Sara."
"Take your own advice."

He shook his head, walking away. She stood, walking into her bunk. Ward was curled up against the window and she brushed a bit of hair out of his face. She kissed his forehead before snuggling into the bed next to him.
"Mmm, Sara?" he mumbled, wrapping his arms around her.
"Who else would I be?" she asked quietly.
"I don't know, just making sure. Love you."
"I love you too." She kissed him lightly before closing her eyes to try to sleep again.

A few weeks later, Coulson sat in the back of a car as a man climbed into the front seat.
"Evening, doctor," Coulson said. The man froze for a moment them clicked his seatbelt shut.
"Agent Coulson."
"You weren't operating on my heart," he accused. "I know about Tahiti."
"I was afraid this day would come."
"Because of what I'd do?"
"Because of what I've done."

The man's eyes dropped down, then he looked up into the rearview mirror.
"After New York, you weren't dead for eight seconds or forty-seconds or whatever they put in your file. You were dead for… days."
"That's impossible."
"It should be, but Director Fury moved heaven and Earth. He had a team of scientist working around the clock using procedures that no-good doctor would ever allow."
"You were there."

Guilty, the man nodded.
"Fury brought me in during the seventh operation. We kept you conscious to monitor brain activity, but you were in extreme pain. The neurological damage, it was catastrophic."
"I wanted to die." The doctor had tears in his eyes.
"And we should have let you. The trauma you endured was… ungodly."
"Why was that machine messing with my brain?"
"After what you've been through…" He took a deep sigh. "We wanted to restore the man you'd once been, so we gave you a pleasant memory of a beautiful island. We didn't want you to be that… thing."

It was Coulson's turn to sigh deeply.
"What did I become, doctor? Tell me."
"You'd lost your will to live. We tried to give it back." The doctor sighed again. "I'm sorry, Agent Coulson. Truly, I am. If you only knew." Coulson pushed open the door and climbed out of the car.

Mike Peterson awoke on a small cot. He stared slowly moving and uncovered on of his arms. It was charred black. He slowly sat up, grimacing in pain as he looked at his burnt arm and the Centipede device still glowing. He reached down and grabbed the sheet, throwing off his body. His right leg below the knee was completely missing. He stared in shock and horror at his broken body then looked around the room.
"H-hello? Anybody there? Hello?"

Hesitantly, he reached up, touching the eye on the burned side of his face. A flash appeared in his sight for a moment then a message came up. GOOD MORNING, MR. PETERSON. STAND BY FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. His hand dropped in horror.
"No."

All rights go to Marvel and the writers and directors of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.