IMPASSE

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Take place at the end of S1 but before the beginning of S2. Characters belong to Stan Lee.

Melinda May watched as Grant Ward was led away.

"What's going to happen to him?" Melinda May queried.

"He'll undergo psychological evaluation," Phil Coulson replied. "The way he was talking…" At this, the woman turned to him.

"You think he was brainwashed?" she wondered.

"Maybe not the same way HYDRA usually does, but yeah, I think Garrett had him brainwashed," Phil responded. "I looked into some things. Garrett found Grant when he was fourteen and in juvie. He had burned down his house with brother inside," he continued.

"The brother make it?" Melinda asked.

"Yeah, he's a Senator now," Phil replied. "But from what I read in the file and Grant's earlier medical history, there was a history of abuse in that house, so-"

"So, when Garrett and HYDRA came knocking, showing Grant even a sliver of affection-" Melinda surmised.

"Grant latched onto it," Phil confirmed.

"You think we can help him?" Melinda asked.

"I don't know," Phil answered. "Only time will tell." At this, Melinda nodded. Gonna figure this out. Gonna help him, she thought. Was she still pissed that he had turned on them? Of course. But that didn't mean that she couldn't have compassion on the guy.

Grant sighed as he sat in his cell. Fitz and Simmons. They're alive, he thought to himself, sighing in relief. He had fucked everything up. He knew this. But what else could he do? John had wanted them crossed off. And he couldn't do it. But now Fitz was still hurt because the damn pod hadn't floated. It was supposed to float, he thought to himself. Why hadn't it floated? It was supposed to float. But it hadn't. And now Fitz…he had tried to protect them and he hadn't even succeeded. Well, at least he couldn't hurt anyone again down here. That was something. He just had to wait for the execution. And really, it was nothing less than he deserved. He had betrayed them all. He had had a great thing in the team and he had fucked it all up.

His reverie was broken when the door opened and he watched as a figure approached. Wonder who it is, he thought to himself. Which member of the team had drawn the short straw to tell him his fate? And did any of them even care? Okay, he knew the answer to that last question: 'No'. And why should they? He had betrayed them and had killed several of their friends.

"When's the execution date?" he asked wearily. Not that it really mattered he supposed. After all, he didn't have any plans in stopping it. He was getting what he deserved.

"You don't have one," came the reply and Grant's eyes widened. It was Coulson!

"No execution date? Why not?" he wondered. Not that he was looking a gift horse in the mouth, but he had to admit, he was curious. He was a traitor. He deserved nothing less than death.

"Because I know you were never loyal to HYDRA. Just Garrett," was the answer.

"I still killed a lot of people," the ex-team member reminded him.

"Yeah, Garrett had you brainwashed pretty good, didn't he?" the older man asked and Grant's head shot up. What does he mean? I was never put under HYDRA's influence, he thought to himself. He had done everything John had asked of his own free will. Which was why he belonged here.

"Sir, I-" Grant's voice trailed off.

"He took you in when you were fourteen, right?" Coulson asked and Grant nodded. "And what was your home life like?" At this, Grant's face clouded and he seemed to shrink into himself as he fell silent, unsure of what to say. He wasn't sure what answer the man wanted to hear.

"It was bad," he finally admitted.

"And then Garrett comes along, showing you probably the first ounce of affection you had ever known," Coulson surmised. "He molded you, shaped you. Got you to believe in him and his ideology."

"I was never a True Believer. I was just trying to save John." Nothing else had mattered. But he didn't expect Coulson to understand. Or even care. He shouldn't care. He wasn't worth it.

"Okay." Grant's eyes flickered as Coulson nodded. Does he believe me? he wondered. He hoped so since it was the truth. HYDRA could burn to the ground in his opinion. Saving John had been his goal. And in the end, he had failed in that. And for what? To lose his team? Their friendship? And Skye…yeah, that was the one that hurt the most. But at least she was okay. She hated him, but she was alive. That was all that mattered. Anything else…didn't. What was going to happen next, he wasn't sure. Surely Coulson wasn't serious about there being no execution. Maybe he was just trying to get his hopes up to gauge his reaction. What he was hoping to accomplish by this, Grant wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to play into it. He knew what he deserved. And that was death. "There's one thing I need to know. The escape pod-"

"It was supposed to float. It should've floated. I don't know why it didn't." At this, Coulson nodded.

"I'll be back," he said. Grant watched as Coulson left. What's his game here? he wondered. It didn't make sense. He had almost seemed…hopeful at his response. But why? Why would the man care about him when he had betrayed him and his team? That didn't make sense. Grant sighed and then leaned back. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but he had a feeling that things would never be the same ever again.