TW for fighting/violence, blood, and mention of past GSW

Melinda didn't get a buzz on the commlink from Daisy the rest of the day, so she assumed things had gone well enough for her at SHIELD. If Melinda was being honest, while she was happy Daisy wasn't in trouble, there was a small part of her that was disappointed she didn't have an excuse to go and deface the big Captain America memorial statue downtown (just deface, not blow up, despite Daisy's earlier concerns).

When Daisy returned that night, Melinda had just finished setting out a plate of sandwiches for them and was working on tossing a salad together.

"Hey," Daisy said, dropping her stuff by the front door and taking a seat at the island. "This looks good. Thanks for… well, not cooking, I guess. Putting this together. Feeding me."

"I don't cook," Melinda said. She brought the salad bowl to the counter and joined Daisy. "It doesn't go well."

"I guess that explains all the takeout and cold cuts," Daisy grinned. "Hey, no complaints from me. I'm just happy to eat something that isn't instant noodles or SHIELD protein bars."

"Well," Melinda said, once they'd had a chance to start eating, "how did things go today?"

"Good, I think," nodded Daisy. "I was in a briefing about the alien guy for most of the morning, so I couldn't get started on our 'project' until later, but I did learn a few things."

"Like what?"

"They're calling the alien guy Hive. I guess that misty stuff it was using is actually a whole bunch of microorganisms that it can control and operate like a—"

"A hive mind?" Melinda guessed. "SHIELD originality at its best."

Daisy shrugged. "Not very creative, but effective. I mean, they called me Quake, so…"

Melinda pursed her lips for a moment, fighting a smile. "You know, when I was first starting out, before I had my other powers and was just an empath, they wanted to give me the codename 'Shaolin.'"

Daisy's jaw dropped. "You're not serious."

"I am," Melinda said. "Shaolin. Like the monks. I guess they thought that name was a perfect fit for someone with empath powers and working knowledge of kung fu."

"Or they were just racist," Daisy scoffed. "I mean… seriously. Shaolin? Did nobody stop and think that might be culturally insensitive? Are you even a Buddhist? Or from Henan province?"

"No on both counts," Melinda smiled. "Luckily, I was able to talk them out of it, and once I got my other powers, they picked something a little more generic for me."

"Jesus," Daisy shook her head in disbelief. "I guess I should be glad they called me Quake and not something worse."

"So after you got briefed on Hive," Melinda said after a moment, reorienting the conversation, "what happened?"

"Since they haven't been able to find Hive after he slid into the sewers the other day, they had me take point on trying to locate him," Daisy said. "SciTech gave me some data on the genetic makeup of the microorganisms, and I was supposed to run it through a tracking program. It does something with gamma radiation, maybe? I don't know, it kind of went over my head, but I guess it's supposed to trace the specific radiation frequency of the alien's genetic signature and pinpoint a location. I tried, but the program must not be fine-tuned yet, because I just kept getting hits at SHIELD. Probably trace radiation on me and Raina from the other day."

"How's she doing?"

Daisy was quiet for a minute. "I'm not sure. They won't let me see her. She's hanging in there, I think, but there hasn't been much good news. She lost a lot of blood and the mist stuff… infected her, I guess? I heard somebody say something about the mist hijacking her central nervous system, which sounds bad. And somebody else definitely mentioned needing to consider G.H.325, which is also bad."

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"Anyway," Daisy sighed, "while I was waiting on the Hive wild goose chase, I had a chance to do some digging. I looked in SHIELD's database for Ian Quinn, but there wasn't anything except for basic intel on him that would be included in field reports. Franklin Hall didn't pop up with any connections to Quinn or Cybertek, so there's a good chance that, unless their arrangement is way off the books, whatever he's sending to Quinn is considered a genuine leak and not an order."

"Which doesn't much help us in building our case against SHIELD," Melinda frowned.

"No, but I didn't give up there," smiled Daisy. "I tried looking for the Clairvoyant next – somebody who uses that codename, any mention of Precognitives or mind-readers in the program, anybody who showed up in a report or briefing who might have been called that – nothing. According to the SHIELD database, the Clairvoyant doesn't exist."

"Strange."

"Not as strange as this," Daisy continued. She was starting to get excited; Melinda could feel it – not in a happy way, but in an agitated, bursting-to-spill-her-discovery kind of way. "I decided to look up Project Insight after that. And that's where I caught a break. Project Insight exists, first of all. It's an official SHIELD project, with listed protocols and rollout phases. It was all redacted to hell and back, so I didn't get much detail, but it's real and it's SHIELD-sanctioned. It's also locked up behind about as many security walls and passwords as something can be at SHIELD. It's got level 10 clearance, which means that whatever Project Insight has to do with SHIELD and Cybertek, it goes all the way to the top."

"Level 10." Melinda inhaled sharply. That was director- and Avengers-level type shit. Only the highest-ranking people at SHIELD would have access to that. People like Alexander Pierce, for example. "So, I guess you ran into a dead-end at that point?"

"Not exactly," Daisy said, a sly smile spreading across her face. Ripples of pride made their way over to Melinda. "I told you before, computers are kind of my thing. I couldn't just crack into the full file, obviously. That would have set off alarms and gotten me caught before I could type 'hello.' But I was able to find a backdoor, which led me to some of the metadata about the file. There's this communication frequency buried inside the file data, this inactive signal. And it's got a very traceable tag. At least, traceable for someone as good as me."

"I'm not following," Melinda admitted. "What does that mean?"

"Basically, a component of Project Insight is this digital tag, a sleeper signal that gets embedded into other files. It's inactive now, but once it activates, it sets off a communication frequency into the files where it's embedded. It's like a hidden message, tucked into a bunch of files across SHIELD. Files that I could see."

"What kinds of files?"

"Personnel files," Daisy finished. "Tons of them. Had to be close to 50, maybe 60% of all SHIELD's agents, heroes, and scientists. All with this secret, hidden signal from Project Insight buried inside, waiting for some kind of activation."

"Which means that, whatever Project Insight is, not only does it go all the way to the top, but it involves half of the entire agency," Melinda said, realization and dread both seeping into her. "Which means we can definitely rule out the 'one bad apple' theory…"

"I'm not kidding, that signal is all over SHIELD," Daisy said. "It's in the files of all the guys on our list – Pierce, Whitehall, Hall – but it's in the files of tons of other people, too. Even my own handler and SO both have it hidden in their files."

"What about you?" Melinda asked, a sudden, concerning thought occurring to her. "They haven't tagged you with it without you knowing, have they?"

"I thought about that, too. I checked – I'm clean. So at least we know I'm not going to go all evil mind-control zombie on you when the signal gets flipped on."

"I know I'm not the most tech-savvy," Melinda shook her head, "but that doesn't sound like something a communication signal in a personnel file could do. Please tell me I'm right."

"I was just joking," Daisy assured her. "Honestly, it's a very small signal. Not even a word or phrase. More just like an on/off thing. My guess is that, whatever protocols are set up within Project Insight, there's some kind of directive that gets put into action once the signal goes live, and whoever's got the signal knows what to do when they get the go."

"Then we've got to figure out what Project Insight is and what that signal might set in motion, before it goes live and we miss our chance to catch SHIELD off-guard."

"I think so," nodded Daisy. "How'd things go on your end? Is your friend going to back us up?"

"She said she would, provided we can bring her the proof. She's willing to stick her neck out for us, but not without evidence."

"So I guess we're really doing this, then," Daisy said softly. She swallowed hard. Melinda was tempted to try and sense her feelings, but she was trying to respect Daisy's boundaries. Besides, it was pretty obvious from her body language alone that Daisy was feeling the weight of turning on her own organization.

"It's not too late, if you want to back out," Melinda told her. "You've already given us more than I could have dreamed of. If you don't want to—"

"No," Daisy said. She turned to look Melinda full on. "No, I'm still in. I'm all in. It's just a lot. And it's starting to sink in that I probably shouldn't have trusted SHIELD as much as I did. The number of secrets they're keeping…"

"Organizations like SHIELD only work when information is siloed and protected," Melinda said. "That's true of any organization that works in intelligence and the hero industry. Information is power, and sometimes restricting that information is the best thing for everyone's sake. The problem with SHIELD is that, of all the secrets it keeps, too many of them are kept because it's the best thing for SHIELD's sake and for their bottom line, not for the people it's supposed to be protecting."

"I guess I'm still trying to learn the difference," Daisy murmured. "Secrets have never felt like much of a good thing to me."

"It'll come," Melinda promised her. "That kind of discernment usually comes with age and experience, two things you're on the early side of. As much as this might sound ridiculous coming from me, it's not a bad thing to trust. It just takes practice to get it right."

"If you say so."

They began to clear the supper dishes into the sink. Melinda washed and, without really thinking much of it, handed the wet plates to Daisy to dry. Daisy smiled.

"I feel like a kid again, helping to wash the dishes."

"You are a kid."

"I'll be 18 in July," Daisy said, taking the last plate.

"It's November."

"Almost December," she ribbed. "Come on, don't be such a curmudgeon."

"A curmudgeon?" Melinda raised her eyebrows, laughing a little in surprise. "I've been called a lot of names, but curmudgeon might be a first."

"I said what I said," Daisy teased. "Tell me I'm wrong."

"Go on, have your fun," Melinda retorted, heaving a playful, melodramatic sigh. She flicked some of the loose water from the sink over to Daisy, splashing her. "Rapscallion."

Daisy gaped, but her expression quickly morphed into a wicked grin. "You did not just do that."

"That's what happens to people who make fun of me in my own house," Melinda smirked. "My vengeance is swift."

Daisy looked like she was about to reach for the water and retaliate – Melinda had fought against her enough times to tell when she was about to attack – but was stopped short by the sound of beeping coming from her pocket.

"What's that?"

"Shit, I almost forgot." Daisy reached down and dug around for a moment, then extracted a device that almost reminded Melinda of a pager. "Your fishing net is still plugged into your computer, right?"

Melinda nodded, and Daisy took off for the office, Melinda right on her heels.

"I set up a little alert system inside the keylogging your net has on Quinn's computer," Daisy said as she woke Melinda's computer and began booting up the Fishing Net. "It's supposed to beep me every time Quinn uses his computer, so I can see what he's up to in real time, not just after the fact in a bunch of old logs. I thought that might be useful."

"Has it been?"

"He hasn't been up to much yet today," Daisy said. She squinted at the screen and Melinda leaned in close. "But look here…"

"He's… contacting the airfield," Melinda frowned. Then, she watched as the readout began providing more information. "He's requesting a flight plan for his private jet. One that leaves tonight for… Malta."

Her stomach lurched.

"He's running."

"Somebody must have tipped him off," Daisy said angrily. "And we can't touch him if he gets to Malta. Our jurisdiction doesn't extend there."

"He's our best chance at getting someone to flip on Project Insight," Melinda said, already scanning her hand to open the wall panels that held her suit and gear. "We have to stop him."

"This wasn't part of the plan." Worry bubbled out of Daisy, but she was moving to get ready, too.

"New plan," Melinda said grimly. "Stop Quinn tonight, and we'll figure the rest out as we go."

They made it over to the Cybertek offices in record time, both suited up and riding on the back of the Storm Cycle. Under different circumstances, either one of them might have been more concerned about wearing their official Quake and Maelstromeda outfits while working together in public, but tonight there wasn't time to dwell on that. There also wasn't time to dwell on making a stealthy entrance to Cybertek like they had before, and Melinda wasted no time in slapping an explosive charge on the front door.

"Stand back a little."

The charge blew, allowing Melinda to kick the door down. An alarm began flashing overhead, its wail echoing off the marble floors of the lobby.

"He'll know we're coming," Daisy pointed out.

"He's making a run for it, he already knows someone's coming," Melinda said. She hit the button for the elevator and gestured toward the security station at the front of the room. "See if you can get into the security system from the guard's desk there and shut the alarm off. It's going to get annoying real fast. If you can't take it down before the elevator gets here, though, then forget it."

"Challenge accepted," Daisy grinned. She darted over to the computer and began working away furiously. Just as the elevator dinged its arrival, she popped up from the desk, a triumphant grin on her face. "Done!"

The alarm silenced, leaving Melinda's ears still ringing slightly. Oddly, the light of the alarm continued to flash.

"Damnit," Daisy frowned. "I thought I got both parts."

"Leave it," Melinda instructed. She moved into the open elevator, throwing an arm in front of the doors to hold it for Daisy. "Let's move."

Daisy vaulted over the security desk and dashed into the elevator. The doors slid shut behind them and the elevator zoomed upwards.

"Stopping Quinn from leaving is priority one," Melinda said as they rode. "If we have to incapacitate him to do that, we will, but I'm hoping we can just take him in without much trouble. If we can get him talking, great, but if we just have to bag him, that's fine, too. We can make him talk later, but we can't make him talk if he runs away to Malta."

"You've got the—" Daisy started to ask.

Melinda nodded, patted the hidden pocket on her suit. "I've got it."

And your friend? You said you notified her…"

"She should be bringing backup, should it come to that. She also has the authority to actually arrest Quinn, should it come to that."

The elevator stopped. They moved, swiftly and silently, following the familiar path through the Cybertek offices until they reached the hallway to the executive suite. Light poured out of Quinn's office, and through the glass walls, they could see him: a middle-aged man in a suit, looking thoroughly rumpled and thoroughly panicked as he spun around the office, throwing books and papers into a briefcase.

"It's over, Quinn."

Quinn froze and turned slowly toward the empty doorframe, where Melinda and Daisy now stood, shoulder to shoulder, blocking his only exit. Melinda could easily feel the fear oozing out of him, but he slapped a slimy smile on his face. It didn't reach his nervous eyes.

"If this isn't a strange sight," he drawled. "Maelstromeda and one of SHIELD's little junior heroes. What is this, some kind of ride-along program?"

"We know you've been using classified SHIELD data in your R&D," Daisy said stoutly, not taking the bait. "We know about the dirty money, and the backdoor deals, and Project Insight. We're taking you in."

"Where, to SHIELD?" he laughed. Then he turned to Melinda. "Or to your evil lair on a seaside cliff? Which one of you is supposed to be running the show here?"

"We can take you in conscious or unconscious," Melinda said icily. "It doesn't really matter to me."

"No, really," Quinn continued, still chuckling. "Walk me through it. I'm confused here. What is this? When the Clairvoyant told me I needed to pack, I was expecting outside interference—" He indicated Melinda. "But the baby SHIELD badge is an unexpected twist."

He turned his attention back onto Daisy, studying her masked and hooded face. "I recognize you."

"Yeah, I'm kind of a public figure," she snarked.

"No, no," Quinn tutted. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. Hungry and mirthless. "We've met before. I remember now. You're the pup SHIELD sent after me last year, sniffing around for trouble. You're the one the Clairvoyant wanted me to put down."

Daisy tensed beside Melinda, sucked in a breath. Melinda remembered that Daisy had said they'd never figured out who at Cybertek had actually pulled the trigger on her, but now here was Quinn, not only admitting to it, but gloating about it.

"You… you're the one who shot me?"

"I'm a little surprised to see you still alive," he said, still studying her curiously. "I wasn't supposed to kill you right away, of course, but my orders were to put you as close to death as I could. I figured you wouldn't have survived."

Unbridled fury roared to life like a bonfire inside Melinda, and she started to lunge for Quinn, angling to sock him across his smug face for putting two bullets into a kid, but Daisy beat her to it. Before Melinda could so much as lay a hand on him, Daisy had raised her own hand and quaked Quinn so hard he flew backwards several feet and landed flat on his ass, his back shoved up against his bookshelf. Blood trickled from his nose.

"Well, I fucking lived, and now you're going to regret it," Daisy spat, crossing the room until she stood over Quinn, hand raised in warning. "Who gave you the order to shoot me? And why?"

"The Clairvoyant doesn't owe me any of his reasonings for my orders," Quinn growled back. He dragged himself upright, using the bookshelf to sit up. "His gifts, his vision… When you see the world the way he does, when you can see the path laid out in front of you before anyone has walked it, you don't need an explanation. Only the knowledge that the universe wills it so."

"Are you actually stupid?" Daisy asked, her mouth hanging open. Melinda felt her incredulity almost as acutely as the anger that had flared up a moment ago. "You really believe the Clairvoyant's giving you orders because he can see the future? He doesn't have clairvoyance, he has clearance, you moron."

"Everything the Clairvoyant has said has come to pass."

"Yeah, because whoever he is, he's one of SHIELD's top dogs. He has access to all kinds of intel and a whole agency of people to do what he says." Daisy shook her head. "Oh my god. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius tech billionaire. But you're just an idiot."

"I suppose it makes sense," Melinda said then, joining Daisy over by where Quinn sat crumpled on the floor. "He's not smart enough to develop any of the tech Cybertek makes. He needed Franklin Hall for that. And he's not smart enough to run his business. The Clairvoyant took care of that piece."

"I built Cybertek from nothing!" Quinn insisted. "I run this whole company, a billion-dollar business—"

"You get funding from SHIELD and the WSC to make stuff SHIELD already figured out, then make more money by selling that same shit back to them and whoever else wants to pay you for it," Melinda sneered. "That's not running a business, that's running a racket."

"That's such a short-sighted way of looking at things," Quinn said with a smirk. "Don't you get it? It's the perfect business model. SHIELD pays me to make the things that they'd get in trouble for making themselves, and they pay me to arm both them and their enemies. When the bad guys have scary weapons and impressive tech, nobody questions why the good guys shouldn't arm themselves in the same way. You go on the news, stir up fear within the public about villains with cutting edge spy gear and deadly ray guns and whatever the hell else you want to say, and then people feel like you're doing them a favor when you give that same gear to the heroes. The more dangerous a villain appears, the more the world needs well-equipped, high-powered heroes. The more the world needs SHIELD."

"I got close last time, didn't I?" Daisy asked. "I almost figured it all out before. I knew there was something fishy here, and when I got too close, your boss wanted me out of the way."

"Once again, you can't see the bigger picture," Quinn said. "We wanted to keep our secret, sure, but there was something else we wanted more. Something inside of you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Your DNA," Melinda said suddenly, as the sickening realization of Quinn's words clicked into place. "SHIELD wanted an excuse to use G.H.325 on you, to see what it would do to your body, your powers. They wanted you as close to death as possible so they could justify dosing you with the stuff, even though they were supposed to have shelved it all after EnReD."

"What?" Daisy looked pale under her mask, and her hand dipped down from its threatening position over Quinn a little. "That's… that's sick…"

"And if it worked, it would give them all the leverage they needed to start up the new program, that Terrigenesis shit, right? Stop me if I'm getting close…"

"No, I'd say you're spot on," came a new voice from behind them all. Cold, cruel, and smug. She and Daisy both jumped at the noise and whirled around to see a young man, maybe in his 30s. He was dressed in a SHIELD uniform and had a long, silver staff strapped to his back – one Melinda recognized from years ago.

"Berserker?" Daisy looked somewhere between stunned and confused, and Melinda had to say she was feeling about the same. "What… what are you doing here? What's going on?"

"I called him," Quinn said, causing them both to look back at him. He was getting to his feet, wiping the blood from his nose and smoothing out the wrinkles in his suit. "Handy little button hidden in the bookcase, see. Sent a little SOS to the Clairvoyant."

Melinda looked more closely at the bookshelf and spotted the panic button, right within reach of where Quinn had been sitting earlier. She cursed herself for not seeing it sooner.

"You're the Clairvoyant?" Daisy demanded, wheeling back around on her SO.

Berserker shook his head and laughed. "God, no. I don't have that kind of clearance. I just do what he tells me. And when he got word that Ian here was in a bit of a jam, he sent me to clean up the mess." He surveyed the room for a moment before turning a nasty little smirk on Daisy. "I've gotta say, Quake, I was surprised when we figured out it was you who tried to access the Project Insight files this afternoon, but I'm more surprised to see the company you're keeping. I mean, Maelstromeda, really?"

"Seems like it's been working out for me pretty well so far," Daisy glowered. "After all, she's the one who tipped me off that something was rotten at SHIELD, and she just figured out your whole stupid Project Insight plot right here in the office, didn't she?"

"More or less," Berserker shrugged. "But she's missing the final piece. The ultimate goal of all this, of all of SHIELD."

"What, world domination?"

Berserker laughed. "I'm so glad we've got things out in the open and moved past the SO-subordinate thing, otherwise I'd have to give you a demerit for that smart mouth. No, not world domination. World evolution."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

Berserker pondered for a moment before speaking again. "I suppose the Clairvoyant wouldn't mind me spoiling the big surprise. After all, it's not like either one of you is leaving this building alive. And I have to admit, it does feel good to finally get to brag about it."

"Like that ever stopped you from bragging before," Daisy muttered under her breath.

"Quinn already spelled out some of it – SHIELD turned heroism into a business decades ago, and they realized that if you artificially inflate the need for heroes, you can make a lot of money and get away with a lot of liberties, and that people will still thank you for it all at the end of the day. But it goes beyond just weapons and tech. The world needs heroes, needs extraordinary people with extraordinary power, and SHIELD's figured out a way to make them from scratch. No more waiting on the genetic lottery to churn out a few Enhanced people now and then, not when there are medicines and procedures that can take someone ordinary and make them into something more."

"This is old news," Melinda scoffed. "It's EnReD all over again."

"Not quite," Berserker corrected, an eerie, twisted grin spreading slowly across his face. "See, it's not just about bulking up already Enhanced people anymore. They still make the best lab rats, but it's gone beyond them. It's about finding a way to make superpowers a mass market. Imagine how much someone might pay for a single little Terrigen pill, for the chance to fly or lift a car over their head. Imagine how much governments would shell out so all their soldiers could be super soldiers."

"You're nuts—"

"I worked in EnReD for years, I know that technology," Melinda said. "It doesn't work on regular people. That was the point of the whole program…"

"Doesn't it?" Berserker asked. He took a step closer to them, pulled his staff off his back. Daisy raised her fists instinctively, and Melinda unsheathed her sword. "When I first joined SHIELD, I was nothing. A nobody. Just regular old Grant Ward, agent of SHIELD. Then I got this little beauty in my hands, and it gave me power. It made me into something. Something strong, something special. Something that demanded people's respect. I wasn't Grant Ward, I was Berserker. But it wasn't enough. The effects are temporary, you see. So when our mutual friend Dr. Whitehall approached me with an idea…"

He trailed off, the sickening grin deepening, looking almost gruesome in the still flashing lights of the silent alarm. "Well, let's just say I jumped at the chance to become something even more than Berserker. It wasn't easy, but it worked. I'm more than I ever was. I'm eternal, now. I'm legion."

At first, Melinda had thought it was a trick of the flashing light, but she soon realized that his face was contorting unnaturally, transforming before their eyes. His bones shifted, growing him an extra foot. His eyes reddened, sinking deep into his elongating face, and his skin turned an ugly, greyish-purple color. Tentacles sprouted from his head.

"You're… you're Hive," Daisy gasped, stumbling away from him. "You killed those agents. Put Raina in the hospital."

"Where she's receiving G.H.325 as we speak," Hive said, his voice an unsettling combination of human and alien. "Pushing us ever closer to a fully functional, fully-sanctioned Terrigenesis program, ready for every agent in Project Insight to jump right aboard as soon as they get the signal."

"What the hell?" Quinn, whom they'd all but forgotten about, made a squeaking sound from behind them. "What is that thing?"

"The future, Mr. Quinn," said Hive.

"Fuck the future," Quinn spluttered. "The Clairvoyant never said anything… If I'd known…" He bolted for the door, but Daisy sent a quake blast at his legs, sending him crumpling to the floor in a heap once more.

"You're not getting away that easy," she grimaced at him. "People who shoot other people still have to go to jail, alien freaks or not."

"I think you broke something," he whined.

"I'd suggest you drag yourself over to the corner behind the desk," Melinda told him coolly. "Unless you want to be underfoot for this next part."

Quinn obeyed pitifully, leaving Daisy and Melinda to face off against Hive on the open office floor. Melinda could feel Daisy's fear, but she could feel Daisy's determination to push past the fear, as well. She could feel the evil radiating from Hive, too, and something that felt alarmingly like glee. He was excited. He thought he was going to enjoy this.

"Daisy, I watched you fight him the other day," Melinda said, her voice low and steady. "Your powers were almost enough to keep him at bay on their own. Play to your strengths, and let me play to mine."

"Okay," Daisy said uneasily. "Count of three?" She cut her eyes over to Melinda for a split second, imploring her to remember the last time they'd said that in this office, to understand. Melinda nodded.

"Three."

Instantly, Daisy thrust both of her hands forward, sending a seismic shockwave out from herself and blasting Hive with it, full force. The glass walls around them all shattered, and Hive went flying backwards until he crashed limply into a concrete column on the other side of the building floor.

Melinda charged, sword flashing.

Daisy sent another quake, a smaller, more controlled one, this time training it on him and sustaining it as she also began to charge forward. The quake held Hive in place on the ground.

Melinda swung her sword at him, but Hive fought against the pressure of the quake and managed to lift the Berserker staff in front of him. The staff caught the blade and deflected it. Melinda spun, reorienting for another strike. She stabbed downwards, trying to pin him to the ground, but he twisted away.

"It's getting hard to hold him down," Daisy warned, her voice thin. "I can't keep a quake going for this long without stopping and starting a new one."

"Reset!" Melinda called. "I can handle him for a second."

The quake stopped, and Hive wasted no time in using the break as an opportunity to get to his feet, using the staff to stand and parry Melinda's furious barrage of sword swings. She hacked and swung at him, constantly moving so that he'd have no chance of returning the attack with his own weapon. She nearly got him a few times, but he was well-trained and managed to evade any direct hits.

"Drop!" came Daisy's voice, and Melinda obeyed without thought, crouching low and rolling away from Hive. The Berserker staff whooshed over her head, then a fresh blast of quake energy hit Hive square in the chest, forcing him back against the column until he was pinned. The staff fell out of his hands.

Daisy got in close, using both hands to send as much force Hive's way as possible. She directed the quake upwards, lifting him a few inches up off the floor, still pinned against the column.

"This is for our teammates," she said, her voice deadly serious. Her arms flexed and her shoulders stiffened, the muscles in her body taut as she pumped all her strength into her quake. Melinda heard a sound like a dull crack and watched as part of Hive's chest appeared to cave in slightly. The concrete of the column behind him cracked, jagged lines snaking up and down as the whole building began to tremble around them.

"The weak aren't worthy of our future," he wheezed. A nasty grin split his terrible face. "But their sacrifice is always appreciated."

With what must have taken considerable effort, Hive raised a trembling arm, and Melinda realized what he was doing a split second before it happened. The grey mist seeped out of his hand and began drifting straight towards her. She scrambled back, trying to get away from its reach.

Daisy noticed.

"No!"

Daisy took one hand away from the concentrated blast she was using on Hive and used it to push Melinda further away. She paid for her distraction.

Hive slipped down the column, feet back on the floor, and used his other hand to retrieve the Berserker staff from where it had fallen. He swung it upwards in a wide arc, catching Daisy clean across the side of the head. She reeled backwards, dazed, and the break in concentration was enough to make her lose the quake. She stumbled, wobbled, then fell to her knees. Blood dripped from her temple where the staff had hit her.

Now unfettered from the restraint of the quake, Hive descended hungrily upon Daisy. With a roar, Melinda launched herself at him. She dropped to her knees as she ran, sliding across the polished marble floor and under the harrowing cloud of deadly mist, and swung her sword at Hive's legs, taking them out from under him before he could reach Daisy.

He crashed to the floor in front of Melinda, who popped back up, sword at the ready. She drove the sword down, plunging it deep into Hive's chest. He made a horrible, gurgling sound, then let out a rattly breath. One arm twitched at his side.

Melinda gave the sword a sharp twist, felt Hive's blood starting to pool around her hands. He was almost gone.

That's when Daisy screamed.

Melinda twisted around and saw, to her horror, that the grey mist had made its way over to where Daisy had fallen, no doubt guided by Hive's twitching hand. The mist started to swirl around her, began to turn red as it sucked the life from Daisy.

Melinda let out a howl of desperation and forced her blade in as deep as it would go, until Hive stopped moving once and for all. His last breath hung in the air like a toxic fog, and Melinda felt the muscles in her arms go limp. The sword clattered from her hands and she bolted for Daisy's side.

The mist was gone, dissipated without Hive to control it, and Daisy wasn't completely hollowed out, the way the two dead agents had looked the other day, but she didn't look much better. Her face was a chalky white, and her cheeks were sunken, giving her face a thin, empty look.

Melinda scooped her up, cradled her in her arms the way she had the night of the CalciFi, tried to pump something, anything, any kind of emotional adrenaline into her that would help. Daisy felt much lighter than she had before, like she was wasting away. Her chest heaved sporadically with wheezy, labored breaths.

"Oh god, Daisy. Come on. Come on, Daisy, stay with me. Stay with me."