Ellie fought to keep her leg from bouncing in anticipation as she sat outside of Agent Boldt's office, waiting to be seen. She was tired and frustrated. The Avengers facility had been her studying ground for months with every roadblock imaginable. Talos was the only person keeping her sane as he helped her work with the Avengers to find what she was looking for. After the months passed, nothing came up. Nothing that would give her the evidence she was looking for. She, however, had a suspicion as to why.

Checking her watch, it was 1:58PM. Two minutes left until she could be seen. She wouldn't allow a second to be wasted. Scrolling through her tablet, she read over some recent notes she had taken. A fresh crack in the screen ran across its center from when she dropped it on her way to Stark's IT room the other day, further evidence of its overabundant use in the past few months.

1:59PM.

Ellie itched to speak the thoughts in her mind and for days she had felt this way. When she had first arrived, her mission was to speak with the Avengers, see what they recalled about the murder of the Hope in their presence. To her shock, none of them were able to recall a single identifiable factor about her. It was as if her face had been erased from their memories and they were unawares.

Next, she worked with Stark to try and uncover the missing camera footage. This is what took the plethora of time. It turned out that the file existed but someone was keeping them from accessing it. Whenever they made progress, something would either sidetrack them or erase their findings completely. It became maddening and she was sick and tired of running in circles with the Avengers. Layten hadn't been as present as promised either, which irked her the most, and that was precisely what she was wanting to talk to him about.

2:00PM.

Immediately, she opened his door when the hour struck, wanting every minute she could have to speak her mind. Layten was sitting at his desk looking over a file when she walked in. His eyes met hers, slightly unamused, and he laid the file aside.

"You didn't leave any breathe room, did you?" He asked, motioning for her to sit but she remained standing.

"I'm not trying to come in here and make a problem out of nothing, but I am exhausted and ready to admit that I'm annoyed with you."

Layten scoffed. "What did I do? Are we going to argue like kids all of a sudden?"

Ellie's jaw clenched. She didn't like his tone but no, she also refused to be childish. "We've been at this for months now. I've been here with my father working to find the missing pieces that will lead us to identifying the woman that was killed here in this facility. This is the only place that gives us anything to pull from in order to identify one of our victims!"

Sighing, Layten spoke in a softer tone, trying to bring down Ellie's. "Look, if you haven't found anything in all this time then there must be nothing to find. You're beating a dead horse, Els."

"No, I know I'm not crazy. I've spent so many days working with Stark to find that missing camera footage and it exists! Something just keeps us from accessing it and I'm not sure why."

"Normal security footage shouldn't be classified to you so I don't think it's—"

"Layten. Stop." Ellie wasn't playing games. She knew that respect was an admirable factor in a S.W.O.R.D. Agent but she wasn't feeling very respectful. She was too tired for that. "I know the difference between what's truly classified and when something is wrong. This camera footage is being hidden from us and I want to know why. You're the one who's been working closely with the Avengers way before I ever have. You should have some answers here!"

Layten could see her exhaustion and knew the energy she put into solving this case. He gave her an apologetic look. "Alright. I'm listening."

Ellie finally sat but she didn't slump. Her posture was as straight as ever as her mind wound up. "I didn't come here to waste so much time and run around in circles, Layten. No one here seems to remember what the Hope looked like when they saw her with their own eyes. Don't you think that's odd? And this missing footage shouldn't have anyone to hold it back unless another controlling power had something to do with it."

"Like who?"

"Like S.W.O.R.D."

Layten's face fell. His posture also straightened to meet Ellie's. "What did you say?"

"You heard me."

The disbelief left Agent Boldt silent for a moment. "Why would you conclude that the ones who are trying to help enable you to bring this justice would hide information from you?"

"Because who else could it be? The Avengers have a system that is highly intact. You couldn't break in from the outside, not even digitally. It would have to come from within and S.W.O.R.D. is already within. You're the one who ties the two together."

"Come on, Els." Layten laughed off her statement. "Now you're saying it's my fault? You think I would betray all the trust that's on my shoulders?"

Ellie's arms crossed. "Then prove to me otherwise. Director Rambeau assured me of your help and most of the time you've been sat here behind your desk while my father and I have worked our arses off. It's deeply concerned me that as the foreman of this investigation, I am being kept from files I should have access to. The Avengers have sudden amnesia as if someone has made them forget. How can this just happen, Layten?"

"We've known from the beginning that a strange power was at play, even in the murder. There's something bigger than us, Ellie, and this is what they want. They want to divide us, to blame each other."

It was Ellie's turn to go silent now. She thought about these words, tried to justify them. It was true, she remembered the energy scans and the discovery that a strange magic had been used. Maybe it was at work again in the Avengers, toying with their weak, human minds. Those like Vision who were of a stronger mentality were disappointingly ones on the team who never got to lay eyes on Hope. She was stumped in all directions.

"Then why haven't you been helping me?" Her voice grew softer, more sincere. "I'm trying to solve this case and prevent others from being hurt. If there's power this strong being played, why aren't you taking it more seriously?"

At this, Layten stood, pressing his lips together. A sigh rushed from his nostrils and he walked around his desk to the front. "Truth is... I don't like that you have to be in the front for this mission. I don't like that they picked you to do something so dangerous, and the further you progress, the more danger you're likely to face." He ignored Ellie's confused and worried expression as he continued. "I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"You've hardly ever expressed such concerns before."

"So what makes it wrong if I do so now?" He approached her and as she stood to meet him, he continued. "I'm sorry I haven't been as up front as I should have been but I will help you with all that I can. I... honestly think I would rather have someone else in the lead. You've done so much already."

Although Ellie stood a foot shorter than Layten, she stood tall and held her ground. "Well then it's a good thing you're not the one deciding that. I've come this far and I'm not about to quit now."

"But what about your father? Your mother? They're being dragged into this and the stakes are already high for your kind."

"What's with the sudden worry?" She was growing exasperated although she tried not to show it. He was infuriating. "You've shown me enough. You're not fit to help me and I can't do any more here. I'm returning to the HQ."

"What?" He grabbed her arm when she went to go around him for the door. "Why are you being this way? You're acting like I've done nothing but we've been in this together from the beginning."

She pulled her arm out of his grasp and huffed. "Well then if you're so smart, you must be right. There's nothing more for me to find here so I'm leaving. It was a stupid waste of time."

"And you'll be wise to speak to Rambeau when you return and ask that she pass this mission off."

Ellie's eyes narrowed. "You don't believe in me."

"I don't want you getting hurt."

"You don't want to see me succeed."

"Ellie, I want you to be safe." He tried to convince her to stay, to cease rushing to the door but she shoved him aside. There was no persuading. She already made up her mind.

"No. I'm tired of this and I'm done working in circles. It's clear that you aren't going to help me in the way I need." She opened the door and took a few paces, but right before she was gone, she paused and added, "By the way, a sentimentality that gets in the way of protecting others is very unprofessional."

With that, the door closed and she was gone, leaving Layten alone in the silent room.

Talos met her on her way through the halls, sensing that the conversation did not go well. Concerned, he walked beside her and inquired of the scenario.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Layten is a douche." Ellie replied without hesitation, not once pausing her stride. "He's arrogant and completely unaware of the severity of what we're working on."

Talos was disappointed. "So you didn't knock any sense into him?"

"I don't even think the Hulk could smash any sort of sense into that man!" Ellie huffed, overwhelmed. "I told him I'm leaving. We've done all we could here and we got nowhere."

"Now hold on," Talos stopped them in the middle of the hall, his voice growing stern. He knew his daughter recognized the authoritative tone and knew where this was going but he tried not to notice. "Just because we've hit a lot of dead ends doesn't mean that this was all wasted."

Ellie's expression remained downcast. "Why are you lecturing me now?"

"I am trying to encourage you by saying that we did make progress. We discovered that something is happening here at the facility, keeping us from discovering the truth."

"Yes, something is corrupt."

"And now that we know that, something can be done to stop it!"

Ellie couldn't help but smile at her father's enthusiasm, even if it was slightly forced. She appreciated his desire to keep her spirits high but another truth was ringing in the back of her mind. What Layten said about her mission was correct; it was only going to get more dangerous. Her father had been so helpful but it left her mother at the house all alone. It wasn't even their job and both of them were paying some sort of price already. What if the stakes heightened and that price grew?

"I do intend to do something about this, Dad. But I need to do it alone from here on out."

Talos frowned. "G'iah. You can't be serious, now."

"I am and I have to be. I know you want to be there, to keep me safe, but I need to return to discuss our findings with Rambeau and you need to return to Mom. I don't think it's very safe going forward."

"All the more reason for me to assist you."

"But I need to do this on my own! I want to. I could never live with myself if my mission were to cause you or Mom pain."

Talos was torn. He knew Ellie's desire, he respected her wishes, but to just let her go was an impossible feat.

"G'iah..." he struggled with the words. "You know I can't do this."

She knew. To ask him to stay behind wasn't realistic. He wanted to be by her side. He cared about this case as much as she did. Her stance was one she stood by, though. She would feel much better going on ahead by herself. She would convince Rambeau to investigate Layten's motives and work on undoing whatever corruption was taking place. She could do it.

"We have the whole trip back to the house to argue about it. And I'm not trying to be difficult, I just... I mean you always said I was stubborn."

Talos couldn't help but chuckle at her admittance. "Your mum would agree."