Chapter 6 - A Thousand Faces

"Catch me up, Fitz. What's been happening to you here?"

Fitz sighed. "It's a long story, we should…"

Fitz looked to Warner for…permission? He didn't know at this point. There was something about the man's gentle authority that settled him, but he doubted that it was enough to gain his trust.

Warner nodded. "I can take care of explanations, as I said. But I believe I've earned the right to a few answers of my own."

"I suppose that's fair," Fitz muttered, figuring that if Warner found Jemma for him, that that was worth…well, practically anything he wanted.

Was that the plan? To bait Fitz into co-operating and destroying S.H.I.E.L.D, or whatever they were doing at the base? Or was Jemma a bigger part of this too? For all he knew, the Monolith was all Warner's doing, and her disappearance and rescue were both staged so that Fitz would have a reason to trust him.

Warner hummed, as though wondering which question to ask first. Fitz saw him shrug, seeming to abandon all pretences. "What does S.H.I.E.L.D plan to do with the Monolith?"

Fitz and Simmons exchanged a glance.

"I…I don't know," Simmons spluttered. "When I was…taken, I'd just returned. I didn't have time to reconvene with the team. Maybe if you hadn't kidnapped me, I might have more answers for you."

Warner let a small smile spread across his handsome face. "I see why you rate her so highly, Mr. Fitz."

Fitz just stared back. "Question for a question, right?"

"I don't see why not."

Fitz glared. "What am I working on?"

Warner laughed. "I thought you were smarter than that, Leopold. To waste your question on something you know you won't get answer to…truly, I expected better. But since I'm curious as to what else you're going to ask, I'll let you have another try."

Simmons cleared her throat. "Why do you need both of us?"

"Simple, because you're the brightest young minds in the country. The fact that you're a team is a blessing to us all."

"Flattery will get you exactly nowhere," Simmons shot back.

"Neither will attitude, Miss Simmons. I don't know where you think you are, but you're not exactly in any position to be abandoning your manners."

"I don't take kindly to kidnapping, not when my best friend is involved."

Warner just rested back in his chair. "I believe it's my turn. Miss Simmons, can you tell me about your experience with the Monolith?"

"Why is it so important to you?" Fitz interrupted.

"I'd like my answer first."

Simmons's eyes darted around the room. "It's…much more complicated than you'd like to believe. I can't just…I'll need time, resources to draw conclusions about the atmosphere-."

"I don't want a report, Miss Simmons, just your personal account."

Simmons stared with steely eyes at Warner. "And why should I comply?"

"Because I'll have you killed otherwise. And then I'll infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D and send one of my own into the Monolith and see for myself."

Simmons grinned in an evil way that Fitz knew was acquired wherever she had been. "It takes more than just anyone to survive there. But try it, there'll be one less of you."

"What if I sent Leopold?"

"He wouldn't go," Simmons said quickly. "He doesn't take orders from you."

"That depends on what they are," Warner said quietly. "Come in."

The doors slid open to reveal Ward standing there, gun in hand but low. Warner beckoned him inside the room, taking delight in watching Jemma's eyes widen.

"You! I should've known you had something to with this…wait, but…this doesn't seem like a Hydra operation."

Warner shook her head. "Leopold will fill you in later with what he's found. I thought a little reunion might be in order. Ward, if you could take Miss Simmons outside, please."

"I'm not going anywhere with a man who tried to execute me."

Warner's eyes fell on Fitz. "Now that's the right answer, the one I expected. It seems your friend believes differently, Miss Simmons."

"Fitz?"

Fitz swallowed hard. "Don't let him inside your head, Jemma. Just…wait outside, okay?"

"I don't like this, Fitz. What's happening?"

Ward stepped forward. "Jemma, let's wait outside."

"Don't touch me, don't even look at me!"

"Can't do that, I'm afraid." Ward grabbed her upper arm and dragged her, literally kicking and screaming out of the room. The door swept shut behind them as Fitz turned to Warner.

"That's what this whole project is about. What I've been working on. You're…you're creating your own Monolith?"

Warner grinned. "You're so close to the point, Leopold. But your key error is not believing Mr. Ward and myself when we tell you that we're not the bad guys here."

"It would help if you told me what you wanted. I could've had it done by now."

Warner drummed his fingers on his desk. "I don't think you believed that would work, did you? Use your sense, Leopold. You don't really matter to me, Miss Simmons doesn't matter to me past what she knows about the Monolith and where it leads."

Fitz stared at him curiously. "How did you even know it was a portal somewhere?"

"It's the most logical option, isn't it? People have been searching for it for a very long time, it had to be something mythic, something with a value that could not be given anywhere else. Plus, a chance to explore another world, another ecosystem, how could I possibly pass that up?"

"You're a scientist. You're not a deranged fascist like Garrett."

"Correct, Leopold," Warner rasped, his eyes shining. "At long last, we're getting somewhere."

"That still doesn't explain your problem with S.H.I.E.L.D, or why Ward is working with you."

"You'll have to ask him," Warner smiled thinly.

Fitz sighed. "How did you find Jemma?"

"Now that's an easy answer, but I don't believe it's one that you'll enjoy hearing."

"Just tell me."

Warner shrugged. "I had Ward extract samples from the team at S.H.I.E.L.D, I am in the possession of technology that can provide accurate locational data given a piece of that person's DNA. When we saw that Miss Simmons was off world, it was easier to find her."

"But I…I searched everywhere, did everything I could think of," Fitz rambled. "How were you able to get her?"

"You asked me how I found her and I told you. The rest is simply not something that you have the clearance to know."

Fitz clenched his fist. "She's my best friend. I'd like to know how you saved her life."

"Nice angle, S.H.I.E.L.D trained you well. But you're wasting your time trying to get anything out of me, Mr Fitz. I suggest you spend your efforts trying to keep your best friend and boyfriend from killing each other."

"He's not…" Fitz started, before recognising it for the dismissal that it was. The longer that Jemma and Ward were alone together, the higher the chances were of something going very, very wrong. "I'm not done talking about this," Fitz called over his shoulder as he left the room, the doors sliding open as he approached.

He walked right into the middle of a bloodbath. Literally.

Ward had a small wound on the side of his head, a trail of blood sliding down his cheek. Jemma was out of breath, standing a few paces away from him. They were too absorbed in their argument to notice him.

"—clearly manipulating him once again! Guess what, Ward? He's stronger than that, he's stronger than you. So if you think that you're going to be able to mess with him, you're dead wrong."

Ward put his hands up, a gesture of innocence less convincing due to the gun he was still holding. He placed it in his holster and sighed. "Jemma, I don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm not going to hurt him again. Either of you, again."

"How am I ever supposed to believe that?"

"Like with Leo, I'll work on regaining your trust."

"Don't waste your time. It's not going to work." Jemma turned to leave but caught a glimpse of Fitz a little ways down the hall.

Ward shuffled. "I'll leave you to it."

Jemma ignored him and turned to her best friend. "Do you want to explain any of this?"

Fitz frowned. "Whoa, why are you mad at me?"

Jemma sighed quietly. "Sorry, running on pure adrenaline here. I think we're overdue a talk."

"You think? You've been on another planet for who knows how long!"

"Do you want to get into this tonight or get some rest first?"

Fitz put a hand on her shoulder. "I can tell you all of my side tonight, if you want? You can recalibrate yourself and tell me what you like tomorrow."

Jemma nodded, knowing it was going to take her a while to acclimatise herself to Earth again, as well as summon the courage to tell Fitz everything that had happened to her while off-world. Nothing was simple anymore, that much she knew. "Do you have, like, quarters here or something?"

Fitz eyed their surroundings. "Yes, but they're being watched."

"Surely they know everything already though. At least, anything you'd want to tell me."

Fitz supposed this was true with a nod. "You're right. Let's head there and I'll fill you in."

Sat cross-legged on his bed, Fitz told Jemma everything that he had gone through since being taken from S.H.I.E.L.D. He had kept his reunions with Ward to a minimum, however, knowing that Jemma wasn't going to take any of the information well, particularly anything that dipped its toe into the narrative of Ward not being the out and out villain they'd known him to be.

He finished explaining the situation with Jesse and recapped the moments before he was summoned to Warner's office. "So that's everything."

"Christ, Fitz, I'm so glad you're okay. I'm assuming you've already attempted to escape."

Fitz looked straight into the camera and nodded. "I have. It's impenetrable, Jem, there's no way out that I can figure out on my own."

The girl smiled. "Well, your partner is crime is back now. Give me a few days to centre myself back on Earth and we'll be out of here in no time."

Jemma paused before eyeing him curiously. "You do…want to leave, don't you?"

"What? Of course I do. Why would you think that I didn't?"

She raised a brow. "Fitz, this is me. I more than anyone know your history with Ward. Even if he doesn't."

"He knows…some things."

"I bet he does, and I bet he's taking advantage of every single one of them, like Warner's little pet spy. He's awfully good at that."

Fitz sighed. "Jemma, I…I don't know how to explain this."

"I'm not sure I really want to hear it."

"Listen. Ward isn't the guy you think he is," Fitz pressed.

Jemma shook her head. "No, Fitz, he's not the guy you think he is. He's playing you once again because that's all he knows how to do. I thought you'd know better than to fall for his games again."

"That's not fair," Fitz gasped. "Jem, he wasn't working for HYDRA back then like we thought. He was working against HYDRA."

"Even if that was true, he was still working against SHIELD. The enemy of your enemy isn't always your friend, Fitz."

"But he's not the enemy!"

"I need to find a way to get out of here, away from this, with or without you."

Fitz dragged a hand down his face. "There isn't one. I've been trying since I got here."

"So you don't want to stay with him?"

"Of course I don't."

Around the corner, Ward pressed himself against a wall and clenched his jaw. That was hard to hear. He didn't know whether Fitz was being serious or whether he was just trying to calm Jemma down, but either way it stung.

"Well…that's good, I suppose. Maybe with both our brains, we can find a way out. Or at least find a way to contact the others. They'll know a way to come rescue us."

Jemma let out a long yawn, leading Fitz to remember just how long of a day it had been for her, one that never seemed to end.

"You can stay in here with me if you'd like," Fitz whispered. "Like old times."

"I don't remember us ever being held prisoner on a weird enemy base, Fitz."

Fitz stood up and went to go and get her one of his spare towels from the bathroom. He made sure to whisper so she wouldn't hear him say, "Yeah well, as far as prisons go, this one isn't so bad."

Fitz wondered whether he really meant that. He didn't like his situation there, but he did have much more freedom than he expected. He was smart enough not to let the comfort ensnare him, but he had to recognise the situation for what it was. Warner was much more forthcoming with him now, and Ward…well, that was the rub, wasn't it?

Who was Ward, really? Fitz took issue with how easily he could play multiple sides so seamlessly. Nobody was that good of an agent, not even someone like May or Fury or anyone. Everyone had a heart and everyone was susceptible to it being broken and damaged.

Ward, however, seemed to enjoy not having any direct allegiances. Warner didn't have his total trust or loyalty, because Ward spent a lot of his time trying to work out how best to protect Fitz, which was not in Warner's immediate interests. They were clearly at odds about the issue; Fitz knew this was why he hadn't seen much of Warner and Ward in the same room lately. Ward didn't want anything Warner said influencing Fitz, and Warner didn't want Fitz and Ward becoming too chummy. He needed to keep Fitz's mind on the project, and now that had included roping Jemma into the ring, just moments after she had escaped and survived an unfamiliar planet.

Fitz wasn't surprised that Jemma was asleep when he had turned around. The sheer amount of adrenaline that must have been coursing through her body in the last few hours might've spiked to rates previously unknown. It might have just been the effects of the new world taking a toll on her, but there was something new about Jemma that Fitz had never seen before. There was a new texture to her eyes that he couldn't place; all he knew was that something was different.

A lot of things were different about them. Fitz was more emotionally conflicted than he'd ever been and, once again, it was all to do with Grant Ward.

Why couldn't he just let Ward die in his mind? It should've been sorted with a simple dismissal after Ward had pushed that button, no matter what his reasoning had been. People just…didn't do things like that to each other unless they were wanting them gone.

Ward's dismissal of him had been as crystal clear as Warner's had been just moments ago, and that one he recognised for what it was. He knew the things that Ward had done, the people he had hurt and betrayed, but every time he thought too much about it, Ward's easy, crooked smile crept into his well-organised mind and laid down roots, reminding him that he was not quite done with Grant Ward, even after everything.

Fitz decided that he couldn't sleep and left his room, deciding to head to the lab, figuring that if his brain didn't want to get any rest tonight, he might as well keep trying to find a way out. Warner had to know that he wasn't going to give up.

Confusing, lingering feelings for Ward or not, Leo Fitz was nobody's prisoner. And with Jemma needing medical and emotional recalibration, he was not about to stay in this facility for a second longer than he had to.

And he would deal with the Ward problem the moment he had to, and not a second before. Whatever the problem was, and however it would be resolved, would all come out in time, Fitz knew that much. What he didn't know was how he wanted things to be resolve.

He thought about it until he gave himself a headache, turning everything over in his mind until he reached the point of no return. Even though Fitz rather thought he had reached that point with Grant Ward a while ago. And the thing about the point of no return was exactly that. You were there, stuck in an endless loop of wanting to go back but being forced to carry on, move forward with your new circumstances.

And that was precisely what Fitz was going to do.