#deke shaw x oc
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) ~ Chapter 8
Word Count: 4.1k
Masterlist // AO3
Kris picked up another box of supplies, carrying it to the cargo bay door. She was helping the surviving Believers evacuate to a nearby system of caves so they could wait out the coming gravity storm.
The rest of the team were fixing up the command centre, trying to get Zephyr One airborne again. Kris was not a technical person, and so she opted for evac duty. Deke was helping her as well, having been told by May to ‘make himself useful’.
Kris opened another crate, checking inside to see it was full of medical supplies. As she was about to close it up again, she hesitated. She pulled out one of the boxes and called over to Deke.
“Hey, take this. For your head.”
She tossed him the box, and he caught it clumsily.
“Thanks.”
One of the True Believers approached her, pulling down her head covering.
“We need tools. Wrenches, hammers, that sort of stuff.”
“Okay, where would I find that?” Kris asked.
“In the old supply room, by the cells.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Kris saw Deke freeze. “Yeah, alright. I’ll go grab them.”
The woman nodded and picked up the medical crate. Kris turned and made her way through the Zephyr, trying her best to avoid the people rushing about.
The old supply room was quiet. It had pretty much been cleaned out, save for a few boxes. She began searching for one containing tools, pointedly ignoring Voss.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Voss asked. “In the footage, I mean.”
Kris’ hands stilled. She had been keeping herself busy with the evacuation, trying to forget about what she had seen. She took a breath then continued on searching, still ignoring him.
“Come on, you not even gonna talk to me?” he taunted her.
“Shut up,” Kris replied, not looking away from her task. “I don’t talk to traitors.”
“I’m no traitor, sweetheart.” The nickname made her skin crawl. “I was just tryna defend myself. Owen was distracted, too wrapped up in the prophecy nonsense. He forgot the real mission: kicking those Blues off our planet.”
“So that justifies killing him?” Kris snapped, spinning around to face him. “You have no right to call yourself a True Believer in S.H.I.E.L.D.; you have no right to align yourself with us. You betrayed everything S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for. You killed one of your own, a teammate, a friend. Not only that, you took away the last of Deke’s family. You’re despicable.” She glared at him.
“You have no idea what it was like.” Voss stood up, his voice getting louder as he towered over her on the other side of the cage. “Living in the Lighthouse. It sucks out your soul. Of course people lost faith in S.H.I.E.L.D. and decided to take matters into their own hands. We had to defend ourselves.”
“I do know what it’s like,” Kris snarled. “I know what it’s like to be completely helpless, to be entirely at someone else’s mercy while they hurt you – torture you. I never gave up hope. I knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would come for me because that’s what they do. What we do. We help people in need and we never, ever abandon our teammates. That’s what separates us from our enemies; that’s what makes us the good guys. You’ve lost sight of that.” She shook her head. “Anyone who turns on their own is a coward. You’re a coward.”
She angrily picked up the box she had been looking for and stormed out, not seeing Deke lurking in the shadows nearby.
~~~
She gave the box of tools to the Believers, her blood still boiling. She ran a hand through her hair, wincing slightly when her fingers pulled on the knots.
She wandered over to the door, poking her head outside. The gravity storm was getting worse.
She passed some crates of rations out to the Believers, then headed up to the command centre.
Coulson looked up from the main console as she walked in.
“All good, sir. Most of the Believers have evacuated, and all the supplies they need are safe in the caves. Now, they’re just removing extras, in case of an emergency.”
“Good work,” Coulson praised her.
The Zephyr shook violently as something fell from the sky, debris colliding with the hull. The team were thrown off balance, steadying themselves on anything they could reach.
“I think that was a hospital,” Daisy commented.
“Is this your first time having a building dropped on you?” Enoch asked indifferently.
“No,” May snapped.
Jeffery Mace’s face swam before Kris’ eyes. No, she really didn’t need to be reminded of that right now. Luckily, she was distracted by the main control panel powering up. Coulson and Daisy rushed over, examining the screens.
“Yes, that’s what I’m talking about,” Daisy mumbled.
Kris heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Deke striding into the room. Apparently, after Kris had left the cargo bay, Coulson had given Deke a gun and left it up to him to decide what to do with Voss.
“You were gone a long time,” Coulson noted. “Is Voss still among us?”
“He knows stuff we don’t. I thought … we might still need him,” Deke replied. “Besides, I’m not going to sink to his level. People don’t turn on their own at S.H.I.E.L.D., right?” His gaze flickered to Kris for a brief moment, and she wondered if he had overheard her speaking to Voss. She didn’t have time to think it over as May’s voice caught her attention.
“Ha! Yes!”
Kris turned to see the cockpit lit up. Okay, it seemed like they were making progress.
Fitzsimmons ran in, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Are the engines good to go?” Coulson asked.
“In theory,” Jemma replied. “But, sir, we found something.”
“Zephyr One’s been upgraded significantly,” Fitz continued.
Another piece of debris hit the plane, throwing everyone around the room again. Deke and Kris crashed into a pile of hard plastic crates. Kris hissed as her arm connected with one of the sharp corners, rubbing it as she regained her balance.
“Will those upgrades help us take off?” Coulson asked.
“Uh, well, no –” Fitz stuttered, but he was interrupted by Coulson.
“Because it’s time to fly. May!” Coulson walked over to the cockpit.
“Okay. Once we have ignition, be ready to lift the ground anchors.” May settled into the pilot’s seat, flipping switches above her head. Coulson took up his position by the anchors button, and May nodded. “Here we go.”
The engines whirred to life as the team gathered around the main console, holding on tight. Without warning, electricity crackled, and sparks flew down from above them. Kris jumped back to avoid them, bumping into Deke as she did.
“Oh, come on.” Fitz sighed.
“Talk to me, Fitz,” Coulson called.
“Well, the engines just blew out, so we can’t take off.” Fitz hung his head, eyes screwed shut.
“As was previously advised, we should now evacuate to the caves,” Enoch spoke up. “I’ll go first.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and made to stand up, but the Zephyr was rocked by yet another collision.
“Shut up!” Kris yelled at him. “You’re not helping.”
“Maybe he’s right,” Fitz suggested. “With the engines gone, we can’t fly to the Lighthouse.”
“Kris,” Coulson addressed her. “Finish off the evacuation. We’ll see what we can do here.”
“Sir,” Kris acknowledged, nodding. She left the command centre, heading back to the cargo bay. She noticed Deke following her and turned her head to him, raising a questioning eyebrow.
“I’m not going to be much help up there.” He shrugged.
It was a bumpy journey to the cargo bay, but they made it. Kris ordered the Believers around, urging them to get to safety. She and Deke packed bags with whatever supplies they could find, shoving them at people as they left the Zephyr.
“Fletcher!” someone called over the noise.
Both Kris and a Believer turned their heads to the man who shouted. They exchanged a surprised glance.
“Can I help you?” the other guy asked her.
Kris frowned. “Sorry, I thought he was talking to me.”
“Why would he …?” The man trailed off, looking her up and down. “Kris Fletcher?”
Kris sighed, exasperated. “Okay, you’re the fourth person I’ve met who knows who I am. It’s getting a bit weird now.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. Coming to the future where you’re famous for dying … I get how that can be weird.”
Kris didn’t really know how to reply to that. “Thanks?”
The man, the other Fletcher, was about to leave with his friend when he turned back to Kris. “We’re not related, by the way. Just in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t. But, good to know.”
Kris furrowed her brow and kept working. She wasn’t surprised that they weren't related – he did have an American accent, after all. And anyway, it wasn’t like S.H.I.E.L.D. was a Fletcher family business; she doubted any of her relatives had even heard of it before the Avengers had saved New York.
“Strange coincidence, huh?” Deke commented.
Kris shrugged. “Fletcher is a fairly common surname.”
“Would be crazy if you guys had living relatives though. I mean, some of you survived the end of the world, so it’s not impossible. But, still, the chances are incredibly small –”
Deke was cut off by the Zephyr shaking again. Kris stumbled back, grabbing the heap of bundled blankets they were using as a makeshift table to avoid falling down.
“Alright, time’s up,” Deke announced, giving another bag to someone. ���Move out.”
“Go on, go,” Kris urged them, holding the door open for them against the harsh winds outside. Daisy appeared from around a corner, securing some sacks to the wall.
“Finally starting to get a hang of this whole good-guy thing,” she addressed Deke.
“Yeah, just in time for the sky to fall and kill us all,” Deke panted, packing another bag. “Perfect timing, Deke.”
Kris tossed Daisy a bag, and she got to work too.
“What makes you say that?” Deke asked Daisy after a pause.
“Voss,” Daisy replied simply. “You let him live.”
Deke sighed. “Doesn’t mean I’m good. Maybe I’m just spineless.”
“Killing is never the better option,” Daisy advised.
“If it can prevent more pain, maybe.” Deke shrugged.
“That’s not a road you want to go down,” Kris interjected. “Too many tragedies have been allowed to happen because of that kind of mindset.”
“Come on, I’m sure you’ve done it.” Deke glanced between them.
“We try not to,” Kris replied while Daisy stayed silent. Deke grabbed a blanket from on top of a pile of bags and stumbled back to the makeshift table.
“My dad could be very violent, but only when he needed to be,” Deke explained. “You learn that in the Lighthouse. A life spent, a life earned.”
Kris shuddered. “That’s a horrible phrase.”
“Never a life saved?” Daisy asked.
“That’s my point,” Deke continued. “Shouldn’t I be able to pull the trigger if I think that person could do more harm?”
“Not necessarily,” Kris protested. “That’s what prison is for. We capture, not kill. If someone is capable of doing more harm, we keep them away from other people. Killing is not the go-to.”
“Besides,” Daisy added, “I don’t think Voss is a threat to anyone but me.”
Deke glanced between them again, considering. “Right. No, you’re right.”
Then he walked away, a couple of bags in hand. Kris followed him, both of them handing out bags to the people evacuating.
“Look, it’s not that I disagree with you, exactly,” Kris admitted. “Pulling the trigger definitely has a time and a place. But it should never be the first option; imprisonment should come first. Only if that doesn’t work, then maybe a more permanent solution should be considered. But, if you have the power of life and death over others, you need to exercise caution and restraint.”
Deke shot her a curious look. “Never thought you’d actually agree with me about something.”
“That’s just my opinion.” Kris shrugged. “Ask anyone on the team, and they’ll give you a different one. It is a rather controversial topic.”
“So, even S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have disagreements. Good to know.” Deke turned to address the survivors. “Get as far into the caves as possible. We’re right behind you.”
They moved away from the door, letting people leave. Over the sound of the wind, they could make out Voss talking to Coulson. Kris approached them, wary of Coulson being alone with Voss.
“... You seem to be just fine with the continents you’ll let die,” Voss spat. His gaze moved behind Kris, where Deke was standing.
“What makes you certain that we cause it?” Coulson asked.
“History,” Voss replied, his eyes not leaving Deke. “There was a light from the sky. Aliens is what I heard. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to stop it but failed. Brought hell to Earth.”
“Yeah right,” Kris scoffed. “Where’d you hear that, a shitty sci-fi movie?”
“As cryptic prophecies go, you’d give Robin a run for her money,” Coulson added sarcastically.
Voss stepped closer to Coulson. “That was from her.” Kris felt her stomach twist. “She said that was the start, and then your girl finished it. Sadly, you’ll see for yourself.” Voss smiled smugly.
The Zephyr was hit again, the metal hull creaking.
“We need to go!” Deke yelled, grabbing Voss and leading him away.
Kris and Coulson stared at each other.
“Would have been helpful if he told us that sooner,” Kris muttered. “I didn’t see anything about a light from the sky in the archive files.”
“So he could be lying,” Coulson mused. “We’ll keep it in mind, just in case.”
Kris nodded and they rejoined Deke as he shoved Voss towards the door.
“Now’s the time, Deke,” Coulson said. “You should go too.”
Kris picked up a forgotten bag and offered it to him. “The storm’s getting worse. Go while you still can.”
He stared at the bag, then at the open door. He looked back at the bag, then up at Kris. “No, I’ve come this far. I need to see it through.”
~~~
They made it back to the command centre, the wind howling outside. It was getting harder to stay standing with the amount of debris shaking the aircraft.
“Almost everyone else is gone!” Coulson announced to the others. “Let’s move!”
May picked up a bag from the cockpit, almost dropping the wooden robin that had belonged to Robin Hinton. Time seemed to slow down as the robin stayed suspended in the air. Kris had forgotten this wasn’t a regular storm – this was a gravity storm. She wasn’t exactly clear on what that meant, but obviously it caused the strength of gravity to change. The robin dropped to the ground. Then Jemma spoke up.
“Cut the anchors.”
Everyone stared at her in disbelief.
“Did she hit her head?” Deke asked, holding on to a pile of crates for support.
“Cut the ground anchors,” Jemma repeated. “Let a gravity wave take us. That’s how we get in the air.”
“We can’t fly without engines!” May protested.
“Maybe we don’t have to.” Jemma was smiling now, clearly coming up with some plan the others didn’t understand.
“Simmons!” Coulson called to her, wanting an explanation.
“The upgrades … Zephyr One has Reaction Control System thrusters, meaning capable of manoeuvring in space.” Jemma spoke so quickly she was almost tripping over her words.
“If we could get high enough,” Fitz added, catching on to Jemma’s train of thought, “we could break through Earth’s diminished gravity. We could fly in space straight to the Lighthouse.”
“Yeah,” Jemma confirmed, still smiling.
“No, right?” Deke shouted over the noise. “That’s a bad idea, right? Could that actually work?”
Fitzsimmons turned to each other.
“Assuming we don’t get crushed by debris …” Fitz said.
“Slammed back into the ground …” Jemma continued.
“Or our thrusters don’t run out of power …”
“It’s back to the void …” They fistbumped. “We’re in!”
“Same,” Daisy agreed with them.
“I used to be really good at self-preservation,” Deke groaned.
Kris grinned at him. “Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“May, can you pilot us through a gravity storm?” Coulson called to her.
She didn’t reply, just gave him a withering look. Daisy smirked.
“Another mom face,” she joked.
“You can do this,” Coulson assured May. “We can do this.”
“Yeah,” Jemma affirmed.
Fitzsimmons ordered the team around, telling them how to make the preparations for the flight. The Zephyr was now shaking constantly, making it difficult to do anything. A piece of a wall panel broke off, smacking Coulson on the head. He grunted in pain and Daisy rushed over to him.
“Woah, yikes,” Deke commented. “That is definitely gonna get infected.”
Daisy and Coulson shot exasperated looks at him.
“You okay?” Daisy asked Coulson, ignoring Deke’s comment completely.
“I’ve been worse,” Coulson replied, clutching his head. “But I’ve been better too.”
“As the gravitational forces accelerate, our chances of implosion are rapidly increased,” Enoch said casually.
Coulson sat down next to him, buckling his seatbelt.
“Tell me your primary function again,” May demanded as she passed by.
“To observe and record the evolution of your species,” Enoch answered her.
“More observing, less sharing,” May ordered him. Kris smirked – May had said it much more politely than she would have.
“Thrusters and artificial gravity are ready!” Fitz called out as he and Jemma sat down. “We’ll have about ten minutes of power to both!”
“Don’t fire the thrusters until we’re at the very edge of the atmosphere or we will certainly die!” Jemma added.
Deke, Daisy, and Kris rushed to their seats, hurriedly securing their seatbelts.
“Well that’s comforting,” Deke mumbled.
“Great!” May sighed. “Everybody buckle in!”
Kris finished with the complicated buckles on her belt and sat back, preparing for the inevitably bumpy take-off.
A panel in the cockpit beeped. May slammed her hand against it.
“No! The anchors won’t release!”
“What?” Coulson asked.
“The anchors are stuck. We can’t lift off.”
“I’m on it!” Daisy yelled, unbuckling her belt.
She hurried off, back down to the cargo bay to manually release the anchors. Suddenly, Deke slipped out of his seatbelt too, following her.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Kris tried to grab his arm but he was just out of reach. She started to remove her own seatbelt but the Zephyr shook violently again. She gripped her seatbelt tightly as a wave of nausea washed over her. Kris decided to stay where she was – Daisy could handle this.
A few minutes later, Kris’ stomach lurched as the Zephyr was lifted off the ground and hurled into the air. The aircraft spun around wildly, rising and falling rapidly as the powerful winds buffeted it around.
Things around the command centre started floating around. Kris could feel her own body becoming weightless, the only thing keeping her in place was her seatbelt.
Sparks flew next to Fitzsimmons as the room rumbled. Kris’ stomach churned and she fought the urge to vomit.
“May!” Fitz shouted. “Hit the gravity!”
May flipped a switch and everything dropped to the ground again. The weightless feeling disappeared and Kris felt slightly less sick. Only slightly.
Thunder rumbled deeply around them and lightning flashed across the sky. Turning on the artificial gravity hadn’t made the turbulence any better.
“If I had a stomach, the vomiting would begin now,” Enoch commented.
“I’m really trying not to think about it,” Kris replied.
“Thrusters?” Coulson yelled. “Talk to me, Fitz!”
More sparks rained on them. “We’re not high enough yet!” Fitz answered.
The team grunted as more strong turbulence threw them about.
“This was a terrible idea! I’m sorry!” Jemma shouted.
“Well, no going back now!” Kris yelled back. “Just hold on!”
The Zephyr was launched further into the air. But now, it wasn’t grey clouds and tornadoes outside the window, it was inky blackness dotted with stars.
“Now?” May asked.
“Now!” Fitz confirmed.
May flipped a few switches and the thrusters began to fire, turning the Zephyr upright again. The rumbling and shaking stopped. The team looked around, apprehensive of this sudden calmness. When the stability seemed to be lasting, they all breathed sighs of relief.
“A sound plan, indeed,” Enoch said. If Kris didn’t know any better, she would say he sounded impressed.
Coulson unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up. He exchanged a glance with May, smiling at her. There was a softness in his eyes that Kris hadn’t seen before. Well, that wasn’t quite true – she had seen it before, but it only appeared when he looked at May.
Kris, her stomach now settled, stood up and joined May in the cockpit. They stared at the stars together, grateful that they survived.
“Thank you,” Kris whispered.
“I didn’t do much,” May brushed her off.
“You got us out of there safely. You saved our lives. Thank you.” Kris smiled at her former S.O.
Daisy and Deke returned, drawing their attention away from the front window.
“You took a while,” Coulson said.
“You’ll never guess who snuck onboard.” Daisy put her hands on her hips, panting slightly. “Sinara.”
“Shit,” Kris mumbled. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. She won’t be bothering us anymore.” There was a finality in Daisy’s voice, suggesting Sinara was gone for good. Kris didn’t rejoice in anyone’s death but it was a relief to know Sinara wasn’t hunting them anymore.
Daisy joined Kris and May in the cockpit and reached for the radio.
“Mack, Yo-Yo, do you copy?”
But all she got was static. She tried again as Coulson joined them. Kris caught Fitzsimmons frantically whispering amongst themselves and walked over to them.
“What’s up?”
“This piece of the monolith isn’t enough to get us home,” Jemma explained.
“It looks like we’ll have to break it,” Fitz added.
“Woah, woah, woah,” Deke blurted out. “You can’t do that. I – I won’t let you do that.”
He snatched the monolith shard from them, holding it close to his chest protectively.
“It's just a rock.” Kris frowned. “What’s it to you?”
“Oh, nothing.” Deke shrugged. “Apart from the only family heirloom I have. You’re not breaking this. End of discussion.”
“What do you mean?” Jemma asked.
“The Believers who kept this thing safe over the years were my parents,” Deke explained. “It originally belonged to my mom, given to her by her parents. My dad never let it out of his sight after she was killed. That’s how I knew Voss had killed him.”
“So, your dad built the machine and your mum’s family protected the monolith?” Kris exchanged a glance with Fitzsimmons. “Sounds like they were important to the cause.”
Deke shrugged. “I dunno. I mean, I guess. Everyone knew them, but then again, everybody knows everybody in the Lighthouse.”
“Look, we still need to break it. Otherwise, we don’t get home and all this will have been for nothing,” Fitz said.
Deke was still hesitant. Kris put her hand on his arm. “I know it’s important to you, but at the end of the day, it comes down to saving the shard or saving the world.”
Deke sighed a long-suffering sigh. “Well, when you put it like that.” He paused. “At least let me be the one to do it.”
The three of them nodded.
As Daisy continued to try and reach Mack and Yo-Yo, Deke hovered a hammer over a metal wedge. He almost brought it down a number of times but stopped before striking the tool.
“Really?” he asked, grimacing. “It is a family heirloom.”
“That we need in two places at once,” Jemma explained again. Kris was unsure how she was staying so patient with Deke. Patience seemed to be Jemma’s superpower.
Fitz, on the other hand, was visibly losing his cool. He silently directed Deke’s hand back onto the rock, obviously biting back some sarcastic comment. As Deke was about to hit the shard, they heard Mack’s voice over the radio.
“Tremors? Thank god! You all still in one piece?”
The whole team turned their attention to the radio. Kris sighed in relief, smiling, glad that he was okay.
“More or less,” Daisy replied. “It’s good to hear your voice.”
Daisy passed the radio to Coulson.
“Mack, we’re on our way to you. Do you have Flint?”
“Yes, we do. You got a plan?”
Daisy and Coulson exchanged a glance. Coulson raised the radio again and began to explain their plan.
Taglist: @ocappreciationtag // @arrthurpendragon // @mischiefmanaged71
(If you want to be added to or removed from my taglist, feel free to send me a message)
#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Concept: We catch up with the Deke is Director of SHIELD timeline in the 2020s and Deke is married to a former Black Widow.
#her name is polina#oc#deke x polina#deke shaw#agents of shield#they have the i can't have kids convo that nat and bruce did#but deke basically says they did that to control us but they don't control us anymore we can be happy if we want to be#besides we can adopt the young agents we mentor it'll be fine#she's played by lynda carter
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WHO LIVES, WHO DIES... Leo Fitz
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/dxT7Hiq
by susanpxvensie
You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.
Leo Fitz x OC
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season One━Season Seven
Standalone in the Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Series
© susanpxvensie
Words: 8485, Chapters: 5/5, Language: English
Fandoms: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Categories: F/F, F/M
Characters: Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Grant Ward, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter, Deke Shaw, Enoch, Daniel Sousa, Agent Piper, James Davis, Jiaying - Character, Kora, Nathaniel Malick, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Original Female Character(s), Jemma Simmons/Original Female Character(s)
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/dxT7Hiq
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Kalopsia
by DharmaShwarma
Théodred and Leopold venture out to discover a way to save their homeland. Daisy and Kíli look for Daisy’s mother. That’s all you need to know for now :)
Words: 1037, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: F/M, Gen
Characters: Théodred (Tolkien), Éomer Éadig, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Skye | Daisy Johnson, Kíli (Tolkien), Aragorn | Estel, Deke Shaw, Gandalf | Mithrandir, Arwen Undómiel, Gríma Wormtongue, Théoden Ednew, Elrond Peredhel, Orc(s), Easterling(s)
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Deke Shaw/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Kíli (Tollkien)/Tauriel (Hobbit Movies), Aragorn | Estel/Arwen Undómiel
Additional Tags: Mention of Dís - Freeform, Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, non-canon, Non-canonical plot, What Have I Done, Alternate Universe - Magic, Deke is a baby, Post-Battle of Five Armies, Battle of Five Armies Fix-It, Arranged Marriage, Forget Everything You Know About AoS, The SHIELD characters are basically OCs, How Do I Tag, I don’t even know, I'm Sorry, I Tried, Have a Cookie
Read this at https://ift.tt/2SOzLjg
Ao3 works tagged 'Daisy x Deke'
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ROLEPLAYING HISTORY.
The rules are simple! Post ten characters you’d like to roleplay as, have roleplayed as, and might bring back. Then tag ten people to do the same (if you can’t think of ten characters, just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people). Aside from that, please repost instead of reblogging!
CURRENTLY PLAYING.
betty cooper / you’re here! - active
most active on @asscmbled :
deke shaw
agent davis d davis
daisy johnson
peggy carter
most active on @alodginghouse :
mel conlon (oc)
spot conlon
sarah jacobs
crow wallace (oc)
goldie henderson (oc)
liz holmes (oc)
harley quinn / @revxurxharley - low activity
most active on @norseblooded :
torvi
siggy
WANT TO PLAY
snowflake - agents of shield
lauren reed - alias
danica talos - blade: trinity
erica - underworld
liz sherman - hellboy (movie and comic and animated)
HAVE PLAYED
bellatrix lestrange - harry potter
esai alverez - sons of anarchy
gemma teller-morrow - sons of anarchy
opie winston - sons of anarchy
rogue - x-men
cersei lannister - game of thrones
alice cooper - riverdale
miaka yuki - fushigi yuugi
a million ocs
WILL/WOULD PLAY AGAIN
pansy parkinson - harry potter
selina kyle - batman returns
betty rizzo - grease
sansa stark - game of thrones
walda bolton - game of thrones
long susan hart - ripper street
barbara kean - gotham
hilda spellman - the chilling adventures of sabrina
wendy case - sons of anarchy
ima tite - sons of anarchy
donna winston - sons of anarchy
tagged by: kinda @timeforgcd
tagging: anyone who wants to play!
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) ~ Chapter 7
Word Count: 5.9k
Masterlist // AO3
The ship kept heading straight for the surface, even as Coulson tried to slow its descent.
The ride was rough, throwing them about mercilessly. Jemma and Fitz had taken the only available seats so Deke and Kris were left to hang on to the ladder. They crouched at the base of it, bracing themselves against the floor as they gripped the rungs, their knuckles turning white.
A large piece of debris hit the side of the Trawler, jolting them again. Deke’s hands slipped from the ladder, sending him falling backward. Kris caught him, pulling him back toward the ladder and securing his hands with her own.
Another bad bump sent Kris lurching forward, her head narrowly missing the metal rungs. Deke’s arm shot out, grasping her shoulder and holding her steady. Kris vaguely registered the fact that this action put him in more danger as he wasn’t able to hold on with both hands. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it because she could see the surface rapidly approaching outside the front windows.
~~~
The next thing she knew, she was lying on the floor. She blinked, trying to clear her bleary vision, her head pounding. She could just about make out the voices of her teammates through the ringing in her ears.
Then she felt a hand shaking her shoulder gently. She shrank away from the touch and sat up, black spots appearing at the edge of her vision as she took in her surroundings.
They had crashed. The Trawler was wrecked but they were all alive. Coulson and Daisy had pried the door open and were standing on top of the ship. Jemma was helping Fitz up the ladder, subtly rubbing her arm and wincing.
Deke was kneeling next to Kris. “You okay?” he asked, concerned eyes darting to her forehead.
“Yeah, I think.” Kris raised her hand, fingers brushing her hairline. She hissed as pain shot through her, her fingertips coming away bloody. “Okay, well, that’s not good.”
Deke offered her his hand and she took it. He helped her to her feet slowly and she leaned against the ladder, light-headed.
After Jemma joined the others, Deke motioned for Kris to start climbing. When she made it out, a fierce wind was whipping around them. Her hair blew into her face, obscuring her vision, so she gathered it up and tucked it inside her jacket. Not that it made much difference.
The surface was misty, with dust swirling around in the strong gusts. Kris lifted her hand to cover her eyes.
“So, what do we do now?” she shouted over the wind as Deke emerged from the Trawler.
Before anyone could answer, Daisy pointed over Kris’ shoulder. “Watch out!”
Figures emerged from the fog. Daisy and Kris stood protectively in front of the others. They could see the mysterious figures had weapons so they prepared for a fight.
But the figure at the forefront of the group, presumably their leader, held their hands up. They beckoned the team over, holding up a small patch.
It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo.
Daisy and Kris turned to Coulson, unsure what to do next. Coulson moved past them, slowly approaching the leader. They talked, but it was hard to hear what they were saying over the sound of the wind. Then Coulson gestured for the others to come forward.
The other people in the group tossed the team large jackets, head coverings, goggles, and masks. They put them on wordlessly and followed the figures back the way they had come.
~~~
“Holy shit,” Kris muttered.
Buried in the ground was the Zephyr. It looked badly beat up but it was a welcome sight. At least something familiar had survived.
One of the people leading them opened the door, ushering them inside. Kris removed her head covering and goggles, breathing a sigh of relief.
“It’s good to be home.”
“No, you don't understand,” Deke was arguing with Fitzsimmons, “they're not just dead. As far as everyone in the Lighthouse was concerned, everybody that came up here was torn to scraps. But they're all still alive and living in an actual airplane.” He looked around in awe, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“This is just the cargo bay,” Kris told him, smiling. “Wait ‘til you see the command centre upstairs. I thought I had been transported aboard the Enterprise the first time I saw it.”
Deke finally stopped looking around the room to frown at her. “What’s the Enterprise?”
“Fitz, your design really withstood the test of time,” Jemma complimented before Kris could reply to Deke.
Deke turned to face Fitzsimmons. “Woah, you designed this? Damn.” The amazement in his voice made Jemma smile proudly at Fitz. “Can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to fly.”
Fitz shook his head. “Technically, I'm the engineer, not the pilot.” He chuckled.
“Oh. Yeah, well, that’s still cool, I guess.” Deke got distracted examining something on the ceiling. Kris didn’t miss Fitz’s slightly offended expression.
“Holy hell,” a voice came from above. Kris looked up to see a man coming down the stairs. “Is that Deke Shaw? Ha! I’ll be damned! Thought I was looking at your old man twenty years ago! Welcome.” He briefly acknowledged Kris and Fitzsimmons before rushing over to Deke, who was smiling widely.
“Oh my god, Voss!” Deke hugged the man, both of them laughing. “I should’ve known even the Roaches wouldn’t touch you.”
“Ha!” Voss exclaimed. “Never thought I’d see you tagging along with these folks.”
“It’s a long story.” Deke’s eyes flitted over to Kris briefly.
“Well, let’s hear all about it, huh?” Voss put his arm around Deke’s shoulders, leading him past Kris and Fitzsimmons. “You can tell me whether these guys are the real deal or not.”
Although his tone was joking, almost friendly, Kris didn’t like the look Voss gave them as he passed by. It wasn’t malicious or threatening, just … off.
Voss kept talking as he and Deke walked away. “I’m surprised you’re the only one of ours to make the trip. And Virgil …?” His voice trailed off as they moved out of earshot.
“Well, he seems … nice,” Kris said, hoping it didn’t sound too much like a question.
Jemma hummed and pursed her lips, still watching where the two men had disappeared. Her head whipped around when Fitz groaned softly, leaning against a stack of boxes for support. “Let’s get you patched up properly. You too.” She nodded at Kris. “I want to get a look at your head, make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“Yes, doc.” Kris followed them as Jemma helped Fitz to medical.
~~~
Once Jemma had attended to Fitz’s, Kris’, and Daisy’s wounds, May and Coulson joined them.
“May.” Kris sighed in relief. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
“I’m glad you’re okay too. What happened? They didn’t take you to the Crater, did they?”
“No, I managed to escape. Deke was helping me hide from the Kree.”
“Deke?” May raised her eyebrow.
“Yeah. Apparently he really is on our side now.” Kris shrugged.
“Huh, who’d have thought?” Coulson muttered.
May turned to Fitz. “Robin’s asking for you.”
“Robin? She’s still alive?” Fitz was astonished.
“Sorry, who’s Robin?” Kris asked, confused.
“She’s the daughter of Charles Hinton, an Inhuman we encountered,” Daisy explained. “He was able to foresee an impending death every time he touched another person.”
Kris’ heart ached. She knew exactly what he must have gone through. To suddenly never be able to touch anyone without causing suffering was a special kind of hell.
“Yeah, and Robin accidentally went through Terrigenesis too,” Fitz continued. “She was just a child when I last saw her, drawing pictures of the end of the world.”
“Apparently gaining her abilities at such a young age has fractured her mind,” May added. “She can’t tell the difference between the past, present, and future anymore.”
“God, that’s awful,” Kris whispered.
Fitz stood up carefully and May pointed him in the direction of the command centre. He walked off with Jemma’s help and May and Coulson followed, talking quietly about Robin.
Kris stared off into space, silently contemplating this information about the Hintons. Being around Daisy and Yo-Yo, who were comfortable and happy with their powers, sometimes made her forget that she wasn’t the only Inhuman who was struggling. On the one hand, it was nice to know she wasn’t alone; but on the other, it was depressing how many people had had their lives ruined by the Inhuman Outbreak.
“Kris?” Daisy asked gently, her voice sounding so loud in the quiet of the medical bay.
“I still don’t understand how some people can think Terrigenesis is a gift.” Kris shook her head, her voice quiet and bitter, and left before Daisy could argue.
~~~
Kris wandered around the Zephyr, taking it all in. She ran her fingers along the wall as she walked, leaving trails in the grime that had collected there over time. The Zephyr was a lot messier than normal – large boxes and crates full of supplies were piled high everywhere she looked. It was when she rounded one of those piles that she bumped into Deke. Literally.
“Oh, hey,” she greeted him. Then she caught sight of the giant metal claw in his hands. “The hell is that thing?”
“They use it for anchoring during gravity storms.” Deke tossed it between his hands absently. “I think my dad came up with design.”
“No offence, but it’s very Freddy Kruger.” Deke gave her a confused look. “Nevermind, it’ll take too long to explain.”
“Hmm.” Deke stared at the claw, distracted. Then his head shot up, like something had pulled him from his thoughts. “So, this place, huh? Pretty amazing, right?”
“I guess so.” Kris shrugged. “Never really thought about it, but … yeah. It’s amazing it survived this long. I’m glad something did.”
“Is it the same as you remember it?”
“Mostly. There’s a lot more stuff in here now. And it stinks.” She scrunched her nose, making Deke chuckle. Until his gaze drifted off again. Kris bit her lip, debating whether or not to ask him about it.
“Something on your mind?” she asked softly.
Deke shrugged and sat down on a nearby crate, putting the claw aside. “My dad. I – ugh, I dunno. I’m just nervous about seeing him again, I guess.”
Kris sat down across from him, silently indicating for him to continue.
“It’s just – I always blamed him for getting my mom killed. She wanted to be more careful, you know. Not talk about the prophecy when the Kree could hear. But, he convinced her to keep spreading the word. ‘Keep the hope alive’, as he put it. The Kree caught her and killed her, along with most of the other True Believers. Just like Tess.” He swallowed hard, avoiding her gaze. But now that he started talking, he couldn’t seem to stop. “I was nine. Hated my dad ever since and didn’t try to hide it. Though, I suppose it was partially my fault too. She was telling me bedtime stories about S.H.I.E.L.D. when the Kree came. Dragged her right out of our bunk. Sometimes I wonder if I hadn’t asked … anyway then my dad and the rest of the surviving Believers got sent to the surface about ten years ago. Figured that was the end of it. But now, all of this is happening.” He gestured aimlessly around. “And you lot actually show up, and these people are all still alive. It’s – it’s just a lot to take in.”
“I can imagine.”
“Yeah, now I’m here, I can see the bigger picture. I can see what they were fighting for all this time. Everything that happened in the Lighthouse, everything I did, seems so short-sighted now. Selfish, even.”
“There was no way you could have known about all this,” Kris reminded him. “You did what you had to to survive. No one can fault you for that.”
Deke raised an eyebrow at her. “Your friends certainly can. You did,” he pointed out. Then he sighed, running his hand through his hair. “And I could have known. Virgil knew. About my dad, about all this. I could have asked him – should have asked him. Though he probably wouldn’t have told me anything.” Deke laughed bitterly. “He couldn’t trust me. But if I had been trustworthy, if I had been a better friend … he would have shared all this information years ago. And now I’m playing catch up and I worry my dad won’t forgive me.”
Kris’ automatic response was to reassure him. Of course his dad would forgive him, they were family after all. But it stuck in her throat. She thought about her own dad, about if he would forgive her for what she had done.
But this wasn’t her family – it was Deke’s.
“I’m sure he will.” She smiled reassuringly. “I overheard Voss telling Fitzsimmons that your dad built the machine that brought us here. Perhaps it was fate that we ran into you when we arrived. Perhaps the two of you are meant to be reunited.”
“I don’t put much stock in fate. It always seems to find a way to screw you over.” He paused, then abruptly blurted out, “What about your family? Will you be reuniting with them when you get back to your time?”
Kris tensed. “No. Both of my parents are dead.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He sounded genuinely apologetic.
“It’s fine.” She shrugged it off, but he pressed further.
“I know that tone of voice. I’ve used it myself. What happened?”
Her eyes flickered over his face, looking for any sign of disinterest. But he seemed like he wasn’t just asking to be polite; he actually wanted to know. Kris sighed and leaned back, too tired to bother fighting off his questions.
“My mum died about three years ago. Cancer. It was hellish. My dad worked himself to the bone caring for her, and after she was gone, he just kinda checked out. The whole thing really took a toll on his health, especially his heart. Then he suddenly shifted his attention to me, started making my health the priority. He made me take supplements and vitamins, anything and everything he could find. He was really adamant about the fish oil pills, said they improved heart health. That was how I became Inhuman. Terrigen spread across the world in fish and the water supply. No one had any idea. One minute, you’re normal, and the next you’re …” She paused before continuing. She hated thinking about the next part. “When I emerged from the cocoon, the first thing my dad did was hug me. He was so afraid that he’d lost me too. I didn’t feel any different. I didn’t know –” Her eyes burned with tears but she blinked them away, clearing her throat. “He suffered a sudden, unexpected heart attack. With his pre-existing heart problems, well, I just made it worse. And I didn’t even know I was causing it. I called an ambulance and held his hand the whole time. He died on the way to the hospital.”
“Kris … that’s …” Deke trailed off, not able to find a word to describe it.
“Yeah, I know. But once I realised what I had done, what had happened to me, I called Jemma. She introduced me to S.H.I.E.L.D. and they’ve been helping me ever since. That was about a year and a half ago and they, the team, are my family now. I don’t know what I’d do without them.” She smiled fondly. “I’m glad you still have some family too.”
“Guess we have more in common than we thought.” He gave her a small smile.
“Suppose we do,” she agreed. After a pause, she continued. “I still don’t trust you, though. I don’t even like you.” But there was no venom in it.
He chuckled. “Took the words right out my mouth.”
~~~
Kris entered the command centre, looking around at the mess that had accumulated over the years.
“Wow, the bridge looks worse than I remember.”
“For the last time,” Coulson sighed, “we're not calling it the bridge.”
“Well, you’re not. But I am. Because I’m not boring,” Kris teased.
Coulson rolled his eyes at her but he was smiling. Although, that smile quickly faded when May approached them, having just spoken with Robin.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Kris asked, nodding towards Robin.
“Not great. She’s not saying much,” May replied.
“We might have to return to the Lighthouse ourselves, no prophecy help,” Coulson added. “Mack and Yo-Yo need us.”
“You storming the Lighthouse?” Voss appeared behind Kris. “Sounds like a great plan. Been meaning to give those Blues a taste of their own medicine for a while.”
“Hang on, is that smart?” Kris interjected. “I want to help Mack and Yo-Yo as much as anyone else. But attacking a fortified building where there are more of them than us seems reckless.”
“What do you mean?” Voss argued. “There are way more humans than Kree. We can easily take them on.”
“Except the people of the Lighthouse have made it clear that they won’t fight with us. They don’t know how. And we don’t have enough weapons for everyone –”
“So, we steal Kree weapons,” Voss suggested.
“Even still, we don’t have the people on our side. It would be a massacre.”
“You’re starting to sound like Deke,” Coulson told her. Kris pulled a face at him, offended. “Look, all we can do is hope that Mack and Yo-Yo have convinced them to fight back. Even if they haven’t, we still can’t leave without helping these people. So gear up.”
“I’ve got some weapons stashed,” Voss informed them. “Follow me.”
May and Coulson turned to leave with him, but Kris stayed in the command centre. She then noticed a bald man walking around, checking some of the drawings and glancing at a little notebook.
“Hey, who are you?” she asked.
The man looked up. “Hello. My name is Enoch. I am a sentient Chronicom from a planet which revolves around a star in the constellation you know as Cygnus.”
“You’re an alien?” She raised a questioning eyebrow. His voice sounded familiar but she couldn’t quite place it.
“I suppose, to you, yes, I am. I was sent to Earth 30,000 years ago to observe and record the evolution of your species. I am what you would call an anthropologist.”
“Riiiight.”
“Although many of your species assume me to be a robot, not an alien as you would imagine one, upon first meeting me,” he continued.
Kris paused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I do not have the typical organic biology that humans associate with sentient, intelligent life. Chronicoms are created using a combination of plastic alloy and a metal native to our home planet. We are not ‘born’ in the same sense as humans and other species are.”
Kris blinked at him, processing this information. “Great, more bloody robots,” she muttered, walking off.
~~~
Kris entered the lab, where Fitzsimmons were examining Daisy’s inhibitor. Deke was watching, hands splayed on the table.
“You met the new robot onboard yet?” she asked them all sourly.
Jemma froze.
“The what?” Daisy crossed her arms.
“He is not –” Fitz started but Kris cut him off.
“Oh, spare me, Fitz. I don’t care what he says he is – he’s a robot.”
“So, you met Enoch?” May entered with Coulson in tow. “Did he tell you he’s the one who kidnapped us from the diner?”
“He’s –” Kris cut herself off with a heavy sigh, running her hand through her hair. “Of course. Of course, he is. That’s – that’s – that’s just wonderful. That’s just great!” She threw her hands up, exasperated.
“Yeah, well, he also helped me get to the future, so can we cut him a little slack?” Fitz interjected.
“Of course you’d be on the robot’s side,” Kris muttered bitterly. She hadn’t meant to say it aloud; it just slipped out.
“Kris, that’s not fair,” Jemma rebuked her.
“Alright, everyone calm down,” Coulson stepped in. “You need to see this.” He pulled a white stone with a thick red line from his pocket. “We found a literal piece of the puzzle.”
“The monolith.” Jemma moved forward, taking it from Coulson and examining it. “It’s been fractured.”
“Where’d you find that?” Deke’s voice was low, his eyes darting between the rock and Coulson.
“Voss had it in his locker,” May explained.
Deke’s gaze returned to the rock, an unreadable expression appearing on his face. Kris watched him, concerned.
“The survivors who believed in the prophecy held on to it for years,” Coulson continued, unaware of Deke’s change in behaviour.
Fitz walked back to the massive machine on the wall, pointing at the centre. “Here.”
They all turned to face it.
“What are we looking at?” Daisy asked.
“The shard fits into the machine right here,” Fitz said.
“Maybe that’s how it was able to target the monolith across time,” Jemma theorised. “This could be our way home.”
“Yeah, but the shard alone isn’t enough. We need the whole monolith.” Fitz turned to Coulson for guidance.
“It’d be great if Robin could help us fill in the blanks here,” Coulson said. “Daisy, you knew her first. Maybe you can get through to her.”
“I can try.”
“If she helps us get home, maybe none of this ever happens,” May added.
Kris’ mind brought up the image of the news report that Deke showed her. She suppressed a shudder. “Let’s hope so.”
~~~
“Kris.” Coulson caught up to her as she left the lab. She waited for him until he fell into step with her. “What were you able to find in the Lighthouse? Do we know the whole story?”
“Some of it,” she replied. “I have bits and pieces, but I’m not sure how they all fit together.”
“Now that we might have a real chance of getting home, we’ll need every bit of information we can get if we’re going to stop this.”
“I know.” She sighed, unsure where she was going to get more information. Then it hit her. “I can try the Zephyr archives. This thing survived the end of the world and has a massive memory capacity. Surely it’ll have something we can use.”
“That could work. Find Voss, he’ll get you access. Good work.” Coulson patted her shoulder, smiling.
She smiled back, partially because of the praise and partially because she didn’t flinch at the contact.
After wandering around for a bit, she found Voss. He was inspecting an old shotgun, and cleaning out the barrels.
“Hey, Voss,” she greeted him. “Coulson was wondering if there’s any footage from the apocalypse stored in the Zephyr.”
He looked up at her, properly taking in her appearance this time. “You’re Kris Fletcher, ain’t ya?”
“Yes,” she replied hesitantly.
He made a non-commital humming noise, seemingly thinking something over. Then he reached behind him, grabbing a busted-up laptop from a shelf.
“This contains all of what we could recover. I hope you’ll find it useful.”
“I’m sure I will. Thank you.” Kris took the laptop and left. The uneasy feeling she had when she first met Voss was still there but she didn’t want to dwell on it. He was helping them after all.
She went back to the lab, knocking gently on the door. Fitzsimmons looked up from where they were pouring over the machine, muttering to each other.
“Hey, sorry to disrupt your science-ing but I need a quiet place to look over this footage. Is it alright if I stay here?”
“Yes, of course.” Jemma smiled brightly.
Kris smiled back then turned her gaze to Fitz. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. Really, I am. This is just – it’s been pretty stressful and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Yeah, no, I get it. It’s a lot to deal with. People are going to disagree and snap at each other. It happens.” Fitz shrugged. Although he was trying to brush it off, his tone of voice suggested that there was something else on his mind. Kris couldn’t tell if he was just focused on figuring out the machine or if he wasn’t being honest about his feelings regarding what she said.
“So, what kind of footage are you looking at?” Jemma asked.
“Anything really.” Kris settled down on a disused bench and opened the laptop. “Anything from before or during the end of the world. I mean, I’ve already seen some stuff but I would like to confirm it.”
“What did you see? I thought Kasius destroyed the archives.”
“He did. But Deke managed to uncover some news reports when he was rebuilding the Framework.” She spoke without thinking, forgetting that neither of them knew about that.
Metal clanged as Fitz dropped a tool on the floor, swearing, while Jemma just stood there, staring at her as if she must have misheard.
“He what?” Fitz asked.
“Yeah, okay, don’t panic.” She saw the astounded expressions on their faces and shrugged. “I know, easier said than done. But it’s not fully rebuilt and he says it’s completely safe. Look, I don’t really believe him either but nothing bad happened so …”
“You were in there?” Jemma asked quietly.
“Yep. Me and Daisy. It wasn’t exactly pleasant but at least he didn’t make us forget the real world while we were in there. Look, it doesn’t matter. My point is, he saved some archive footage in there so the Kree wouldn’t find it. But because I don’t trust the Framework, I don’t trust the footage. So I need to confirm it with this.” She gestured to the laptop.
“Right, yeah, one problem at a time,” Fitz muttered.
“Exactly, getting home and saving the world is priority number one,” Kris agreed. “We’ll deal with that mess another time.”
The three of them got to work. Fitz and Jemma talked amongst themselves, rapidly exchanging theories and ideas. Kris tuned them out, focussing on her task. She was used to this; whenever they had new ideas or really wanted to figure out a problem, it was like they were the only two people in the world. Sure, it annoyed everyone else, but Kris thought it was sweet.
She opened a folder and pulled up some videos. They were mostly grainy CCTV footage showing everything shaking then a large crack snaking across the ground. But one video was different. It was higher quality than the others and seemed to be from before the earthquake.
It showed the quinjet parked in the street, the back door open. Then Daisy stormed out, yelling and gesturing aggressively at someone inside. As she ran off, Kris followed her, calling out to her.
Kris frowned and tapped the keyboard, searching for an audio to accompany the video. But, like the others, there was no audio. However, she did find a report attached to the footage. She opened the report, unsure of what she would find.
The report was official, the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo at the top confirmed that much. It was fairly short, not going into a lot of detail. The basic details were there: the city – Chicago – was being evacuated by S.H.I.E.L.D., this exchange happened, then there was a major earthquake – 12.8 on the Richter scale. But what really stood out to her was one line at the end of the report:
‘This is the last time Agent Johnson (a.k.a. Quake) and Agent Fletcher (a.k.a. Nomad) were seen alive.’
Kris’ stomach dropped. But curiosity got the better of her, and she pressed on. Attached to the report were her and Daisy’s S.H.I.E.L.D. service records. She opened Daisy’s, hoping for answers. But, apart from a large red M.I.A. stamp across the top of the page, nothing was particularly noteworthy.
Kris took a deep breath, her heart pounding, as she opened her own service record. No red M.I.A. stamp. But the information listed under her I.D. photo had changed:
FULL NAME: Fletcher, Kristina Louise
ALIAS: Nomad
DATE OF BIRTH: 23 / 11 / 1987
STATUS: Inactive, Killed In Action
DATE OF DEATH: 05 / 2018 (exact date unknown)
CAUSE OF DEATH: The quake that destroyed Earth
Kris sucked in a harsh breath, eyes darting away from the screen. Deke’s archive footage had been real after all. Her stomach twisted nauseatingly.
“Everything alright?” She heard Jemma’s concerned voice over her shoulder. Kris scrolled away quickly, hoping her friend hadn’t seen the file, only to be confronted with an attached picture of her dead body.
Kris gasped in shock, pushing the laptop away. She shut her eyes, and lowered her head. She heard Jemma inhale sharply and Fitz curse under his breath. Tears burned her eyes, welling up behind her eyelids. Kris covered her mouth, trying to breathe normally.
She felt Jemma’s hand reach out tentatively towards her but Kris leaned away from her. Hot tears fell down her cheeks as she let out a quiet sob. Emotions spun around rapidly inside of her; if she couldn’t keep those in control, Kris worried she wouldn’t be able to keep her powers under control. And accidently hurting Jemma would just make this worse.
Jemma stood next to her helplessly, not knowing what to do. Fitz kept his distance, unsure if Kris wanted him near her. He stared at the laptop, unable to tear his eyes away from the broken, bloody body of his friend.
Once Kris recovered from the initial shock, she raised her head again. She wiped her tears away, still sniffling, and forced herself to look at the photo.
Kris wasn’t a doctor but it was clear she had several broken bones. Her brown eyes, wide open and lifeless, were bloodshot. The skin that was visible, mostly her face, neck and hands, were covered in blood and dark purple bruises. The reporter’s words rang in her ears: “severe internal injuries … crushed to death”.
“Hey, maybe we should get some air,” Jemma suggested gently, closing the laptop.
“Good idea,” Fitz agreed. “Nothing good ever comes from overworking yourself.”
A vague semblance of a sarcastic comment formed in Kris’ mind. Something about Fitz needing to take his own advice more often. But she was too tired to say it aloud.
Fitz tried the door, but it didn’t open.
“Jemma, did you lock the door?” he asked.
“No,” she answered, frowning.
Fitz turned to Kris but she just shook her head. Fitz tried the door again, rattling the handle but it still didn’t budge. He banged against it, the sudden loud noise filling the room made Kris jump.
“Coulson?” Fitz called out, banging again. “Hey! Hey!” His voice got more desperate. “Coulson? Coulson? Coulson, we’re stuck in here!”
Kris and Jemma joined Fitz by the door, trying to make as much noise as possible to draw some attention. They heard voices outside then the sounds of a fight. Moments later, May opened the door. Behind her, lying on the floor, were the unconscious bodies of two men.
“They were guarding the door?” Jemma guessed.
“Whoever locked you in really didn’t want you to get out,” May replied tensely. “Come on, Daisy needs our help.”
The four of them rushed to the command centre, getting closer to the sounds of more fighting. By the time they arrived, Daisy was pinning Voss to the wall, a knife to his throat. Coulson grabbed Voss’ arm, restraining him.
May hurried over to the cockpit, pulling the curtains aside.
“Oh, no. Robin.” May sank to her knees, pressing her hand to the stab wound in Robin’s stomach.
The team watched as May talked with Robin, holding her close as she died. May leaned down as Robin whispered something in her ear. Voss turned to Daisy.
“When you destroy the world, you remember this moment. Remember I tried to stop you.”
Daisy glared at him and, still holding his hands behind his back, led him away. Kris turned back to see Robin’s body now limp in May’s arms, her eyes closed. She looked peaceful, like she was merely sleeping.
May looked up at Coulson, tears in her eyes. “This is what she meant. The day it all ends.” Her voice broke. Kris had never seen May so vulnerable before.
They retreated away from the cockpit, giving May the space she needed to mourn. Fitz and Jemma sat down together on a makeshift bed. Meanwhile, Enoch continued to study Robin’s drawings and make notes in his notebook, seemingly unaffected by what had just taken place. Coulson stayed standing, watching May with sorrow in his eyes.
Kris sat down too, apart from the others. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She felt a bit silly, childish even, but she couldn’t help it. She felt so overwhelmed by everything and this brought her some brief comfort.
A while later, Daisy came back, with Deke in tow.
“To me, Robin was a little girl only days ago,” Fitz whispered.
“We’re not meant to see a life like this – at its beginning and end,” Jemma added. “It’s too much.”
“Maybe it makes us appreciate how short life really is,” Coulson interjected. Then he gestured to Deke’s head, where Kris could just about make out blood glistening in his dark hair. “What happened to you?”
“Voss,” Deke replied shortly. “Apparently he killed my dad and didn’t like it when I asked why.”
Kris sighed. Well, this was just getting worse and worse. Coulson was obviously thinking the same thing.
“So we’ve lost Robin and your dad, the only two people left who might have had answers.”
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” Deke’s gaze landed on Kris, flitting up and down as he took in her appearance. “What happened?”
Kris met his gaze, her eyes still red-rimmed. “You were right,” she admitted, her voice quiet and hoarse. “Your archive footage was real. I’m sorry for not believing you.”
Her eyes shifted to the laptop next to Fitzsimmons. They had taken it from the lab and updated Coulson on the situation. Then she turned back to Deke.
“I know you’re dying to say ‘I told you so’. So, go on. This day can’t get any worse.” She sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand.
He hesitated, a sympathetic look in his eyes. “Y’know, I’m not really in the mood. And you don’t have to apologise – I wouldn’t have believed me either.”
She shot a suspicious look at him. “How hard did Voss hit you?”
He gave her a rueful smile in return. “Probably a little too hard.”
“So, what now?” Daisy asked, sighing.
“We live on this crashed airplane until the Kree or – or the Roaches or the gravity storms finish us off.” Deke sounded hopeless. It was understandable, given the situation.
“I think we can do better than that,” Coulson argued.
“Yeah, but at least that way, I don’t go back in time and quake the world apart. Oh, and let’s not forget, I kill Kris in the process,” Daisy said, resigned.
Kris swallowed hard, her arms tightening around her legs slightly. She wanted to go home more than anything, but when Daisy put it like that … maybe staying here wasn’t such a bad idea.
“We do go back,” May interrupted, emerging from the cockpit. “Robin told me how. We can save everyone. Just one question, though – who’s Flint?”
Taglist: @ocappreciationtag // @arrthurpendragon // @mischiefmanaged71
(If you want to be added to or removed from my taglist, feel free to send me a message)
#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Touch Me (TIFM) Memes: Deke Edition
#oc memes#does it count as oc memes if he's a canon character?#deke shaw#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) ~ Chapter 1
Word Count: 7.9k
Masterlist // AO3
Kris sat in the diner, lost in thought. The team – her friends – were all chatting away, enjoying these last few moments together before they were arrested. They were all fresh out of the Framework, and the fight with Aida had taken its toll on everyone.
Fitz still couldn't look Kris in the eye.
Daisy bumped Kris’ arm gently, causing her to instinctively recoil from the contact.
“You know you're able to touch people now,” Daisy joked softly.
“I know. I'm sorry. Old habits and all that,” she replied, her voice low.
“Don't apologise. I was just worried about you. You're awfully quiet.”
“Thanks. I'm fine, though.”
Daisy raised one eyebrow but left it alone. Kris turned back to stare at her half-eaten burger. As she reached for it, the cuff of her sleeve moved slightly, exposing the smooth skin on her inner wrist.
She still wasn’t used to seeing her body without scars. In the Framework, Aida had tortured her in an attempt to steal her Inhuman abilities. Although, once she had found out that taking Kris’ abilities meant not being able to touch someone without causing them pain, she was furious. Aida had wanted Kris’ powers but had also wanted to live as a normal human, but she couldn’t have both. So she had sent the Doctor to experiment on Kris and find a way to change her abilities.
And it seems he had succeeded. Whatever he did to her in the Framework had changed her powers in the real world too. And yet, there was no physical evidence. Her Framework body had been littered with scars but her real body remained uninjured. It was almost as if it had never happened.
Almost.
Kris was pulled from her thoughts when the lights suddenly went out. Armed men ran into the diner, lining up behind them. Kris could feel the guns trained on their backs without having to turn around. She raised her hands slowly like the others while Coulson talked to a man behind him.
The next thing she knew, she was facing a tall white stone with three red stripes carved into it. Her ears rang as she gasped for air. Were they drugged?
“Is everyone alright?” Coulson asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Mack replied.
Kris turned to Jemma whose gaze was fixated on the stone. Before she could ask if she was alright, the stone began to melt into liquid. It splashed towards them, swallowing up the team. Panic swept over Kris as the wave of liquid stone rushed across the floor towards her. It was a monolith, like the one that had abducted Jemma to an alien planet for six months (and brought an ancient, murderous Inhuman to Earth who later enslaved Daisy).
Before she had time to run, the white wave gripped her feet and pulled her under.
~~~
She woke up on a cold hard floor. Cautiously testing out movement in her limbs, she turned her head to the side. She came face to face with what appeared to be a very dehydrated dead body. Kris jumped back, rolling away before standing up. Her eyes widened as she took in the pile of bodies against the wall. Her head swam after standing up so quickly so she placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths, running her free hand over her face. They had just escaped the Framework and now they were probably in space, surrounded by dead bodies.
Great, that was just what they needed. More sci-fi horror movie nonsense.
Something clattered across the room. Kris stood up straighter and headed carefully towards the noise. She paused next to some boxes, listening to the sound of someone or something rummaging around. Sitting on top of a nearby box was a thick metal crowbar. She slowly picked it up, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She took another deep breath, steadying herself, before turning the corner with her crowbar raised.
The person, who was crouched on the ground, whipped around to face her. Kris sighed in relief and lowered the crowbar.
“Jemma. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Yeah, well you scared me too,” the other woman countered. “Here put this on. Quickly. We don’t know if this air is breathable.”
She held out a gas mask and Kris raised her eyebrow.
“It seems fine to me.”
“Well, just in case.” Jemma wiggled the mask urgently in front of her face.
Kris thought about it for a moment then took it. After all, Jemma usually knew best.
As they adjusted the masks, they heard another noise from where Kris had been earlier. Kris picked up her makeshift weapon again and they headed back across the room.
Luckily it was only Yo-Yo, who seemed to have just arrived. Jemma reached out for her, but Yo-Yo turned, grabbing Jemma’s arm.
“Wait! Yo-Yo –” Jemma was cut off by Yo-Yo kicking her in the stomach. She fell backwards as Yo-Yo searched the room for a weapon.
“Yo-Yo, stop it’s us.” Kris held up her hands. But Yo-Yo didn’t seem to hear her as she grabbed something off a counter and lunged at Jemma again.
“No, no. Yo-Yo, wait! It’s me,” Jemma tried again breathlessly.
Yo-Yo paused. “Simmons?”
“What on earth? I'm lucky there were no knives.” Jemma took off her mask and Kris followed her lead.
“Kris,” Yo-Yo sighed, relieved to see another friendly face.
“Hey.” Kris nodded. Yo-Yo turned back to Jemma.
“What the hell were you doing with those masks? Trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Well, I wasn't sure the air was safe in here.” Jemma gestured to the pile of bodies behind them. “They were trying to get out. I thought maybe it was for air when I saw these masks on the ground, but I guess not.”
“And you?” Yo-Yo asked Kris.
“I don’t know.” Kris shrugged. “Jemma is the scientist, I just do what she says. If she says the air is potentially not safe, then, yeah, I'll put on a creepy gas mask. It's better than dying.”
Yo-Yo made a face as if to say ‘fair enough’ as Jemma walked back over the bodies and pulled one out towards her by the ankles.
“Ugh, Jemma, no. Please don’t.” Kris turned away, disgusted.
“Do you really –” Yo-Yo started. “Is that the smartest thing?”
“They're already dead, there's nothing to be scared of,” Jemma stated matter-of-factly.
“No. Of course not.” Yo-Yo walked over for a closer inspection. Kris shook her head.
“Yeah, no. I’m staying over here thanks.”
“Oh, don't be silly. It's only a dead body, Kris,” Jemma sighed as she lifted the person’s shirt up.
“‘It's only a dead body, Kris,’” Kris mocked her friend. “Yeah, well, I woke up right next to it. I think I've inspected it closely enough.”
Jemma rolled her eyes and continued working.
“Wow, that looks like Momia Junita from the Incan –”
“The Incan mummies, yeah,” Jemma finished Yo-Yo’s sentence. “These people have been dead for a long while, but their bodies seem absent of all interstitial fluid. It's completely dehydrated them, preserving them.”
“Oh, great,” Kris mumbled under her breath, sarcastically.
“Dehydrated how? Frozen?” Yo-Yo asked, ignoring her.
“No.” Jemma looked up from the body. “Drained.”
“Oh. ‘They're already dead. There's nothing to be scared of’. Really?” Yo-Yo asked. “What sucks a human dry?”
“Aliens.” Mack’s voice replied from behind them. They turned to see him and Coulson dragging a man’s body into the room, where they dropped it on the floor with a heavy thump.
“Mack.” Yo-Yo smiled and ran towards him. Mack closed the metal door behind them and pulled Yo-Yo into a hug. “Gracias adios.”
“I'm happy to see you, too. But I’m not happy you're here.”
“Aliens?” Jemma and Kris asked simultaneously.
“Yep. Coulson’s ninety-nine percent sure we’re in space.”
Jemma sighed and closed her eyes. “Not again.”
“Hey, quick question. Is he, like, alive?” Kris asked, pointing to the man on the floor. It seemed that Coulson was checking his wrist for a pulse.
“Hopefully.” Coulson looked up.
“Alright.” Jemma continued. “Any idea which part of space we’re in?”
“Uh, outer?” Coulson shrugged, getting up.
“And you saw an alien?” Yo-Yo asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Well, we saw what they can do.”
“Sir, we have no idea what kind of creature these people were trying to get away from,” Jemma informed him.
“Question I’m asking is, who locked them in?” Coulson replied.
“Great, just great. A creature that can drain a whole human being and something else that is intelligent enough to lock doors and is probably also dangerous.” Kris shook her head. “I’m so retiring after this.”
“You’re too young to retire,” Coulson chuckled.
“Don't care. I'm gonna do it anyway.”
~~~
Mack and Coulson hauled the man onto a chair. They had spotted a table in the other corner of the room and figured it was better than leaving the guy on the floor.
“It's stupid. Just stupid,” Mack grumbled.
“Alright. I get it.” Coulson sounded exasperated.
“Look, I’m just saying,” Mack continued, “what good is it having a state-of-the-art robotic hand if you don't have it on you when you’re kidnapped by Martians?”
Coulson ignored him and clicked his fingers in front of the guy’s face. His head was hanging low and Kris was still unconvinced that he was alive.
“Looks like he's got both hands to me,” Yo-Yo interjected.
“Ah, that's his civvy hand. It's just a prosthetic without all the cool doodads.” Mack began walking away but stopped and turned around again. “It should have been a hook. At least you can stab things with a hook.”
“Thought I was gonna be arrested,” Coulson retorted.
“So wait, that one,” Yo-Yo pointed at Coulson’s hand, “doesn’t have the blowtorch or the laser gun or anything?”
“First of all, I’m not Inspector Gadget. And second of all, the authorities would’ve confiscated it. Prison’s bad enough without being down an appendage.”
“First rule of Boy Scouts is always come prepared.” Mack waved his hands around in frustration.
“How were we supposed to prepare for this, Mack?” Jemma looked up from the dead body which she was still examining. Even she sounded annoyed by this point.
“I don't know,” Mack retorted. “We got to be prepared for everything, apparently. Look, not a day ago, I was trapped inside a – a computer-generated mind prison, and now –” he cut himself off.
Kris shuddered and wrapped her arms around her torso.
“Don't remind me.” It was a quiet request but Mack heard it. Guilt flashed over his face.
“You know what? You know what, Coulson?” Mack threw his hands in the air. He still sounded tense but it was more reserved than before. Kris wished she hadn't spoken at all. She hadn't meant to make Mack feel guilty; he deserved to rant and get annoyed at the situation. “I agree with Kris. I’m out. I’m out. We get through this, I am packing it in.”
“Sorry, Mack. You already quit years ago,” Coulson replied.
“Yeah, well I didn't quit hard enough. Look, I am not comfortable with the pace at which we deal with new trials and tribulations.”
“Believe it or not, Mack,” Jemma finally stood up and walked away from the dead body, “this isn't new for me. I’ve been hurled through space by a monolith before. The best we can do is keep our heads and apply the scientific method.”
“That's right,” Coulson agreed. “Learn what we can about our circumstances. So, are these people human?”
“Humanoid, at least. Means we aren't the first ones here. That's good.”
“Is it?” Coulson and Kris asked at the same time.
“We don't exactly want to follow in their footsteps,” Coulson continued.
“They've got no I.D.s.” Jemma mused. “Fury never said anything about deep space outposts being developed, did he?”
“There was nothing like this in his black box.”
“So, wait. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have a space division called S.P.E.A.R. or something?” Yo-Yo asked, looking at Coulson. He shook his head. “Really? I always thought you guys had people hiding on the moon.”
“I always thought they had an ISS type space station.” Kris shrugged. “Guess not.”
“Hey! Wake up!” Coulson had returned to the unconscious man. “Geez, Mack, how hard did you hit him?”
“What do you mean?” Mack asked, confused. “As hard as I possibly could. Look, I don’t half-hit people. It's a punch. That's why it's called a punch.”
“Are you sure you didn’t kill him? He's been out for a while.” Kris joined Coulson next to the man, crouching down to get a good look at him.
“No, I didn’t kill him.” Mack sounded offended.
“Okay, well, I’m just asking.” Kris held up her hands. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did. It's been a rough couple of weeks and you see a stranger harassing your boss –”
“I did not kill him,” Mack cut her off. “I know how to punch properly.”
Kris shrugged and mumbled an apology.
“What did he say before you knocked him unconscious?” Jemma sighed.
“He said that we were coming here to serve a purpose,” Coulson replied while rummaging through the guy’s jacket.
“As food?” Yo-Yo joked.
“No. He said we were here to save them.” Coulson inspected something he had found. He handed it to Jemma. “Any idea what that is?”
She inspected it, turning it over in her hands. “No.”
Kris watched as Mack picked up a wrench, weighing it in his hand. Coulson went back to rummaging in the guy's pockets.
“Uh, are you sure you should be doing that?” Kris asked.
“I'll give back anything we find once he wakes up. Right now we need answers and he's not conscious enough to give them. Ah, here we go.” He held opened up a folded piece of paper in his hands. “Well, looks like he’s from Earth.” He handed the paper to Yo-Yo.
“Or he ate someone from Earth,” she replied.
“So it is a human outpost.” Jemma sounded hopeful.
“Yeah, and of course it's being overrun by creatures that suck out your innards.” Mack sighed. “I should’ve been a fireman.” He walked past Jemma and threw the wrench on the table with a clang.
Kris winced at the loud noise. The tension in the air was thick and the silence deafening.
“Okay so,” Kris tried to focus everyone's attention. “Working theory is … what exactly? Space vampires?” Coulson raised his eyebrow at her. “What? It's a very reasonable conclusion!”
“Is it? How?” He sounded amused.
“Bodies drained and locked in a room.” She gestured to the pile of bodies in the corner. “I assumed that the thing that killed them and whoever left them in here were different beings. But we haven’t seen another living being except each other since we arrived. So maybe whatever killed them and whatever left them here are the same. So, vampires are bloodthirsty and intelligent and we’re in space – therefore, space vampires.”
“I'm not convinced. About the vampire thing. But the killer being the one who locked the bodies in here is something we should keep in mind,” Coulson agreed.
Suddenly the man let out a small groan and began to stir.
“Hey,” he mumbled. “Hey. Uh … how long have I been out? We can’t – we can’t linger here.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Coulson said. “Mack thought you were an imminent threat.”
The man looked up at Mack and gasped.
“Alphonso ‘Mack’ Mackenzie. Oh, it's good to meet you.”
Mack looked at the others, surprised that the man knew his name. “How do you know me?”
The man stood up. “Oh, I know all of you.” He caught sight of Yo-Yo behind him. “Yo-Yo Rodriguez. Is it okay if I call you Yo-Yo?”
“No.” She took a small step away from him.
“Okay.” The man sounded disappointed. He turned again. “Jemma Simmons, biochemistry. I’m sorry Fitz didn’t get to make the trip, but he is thinking of you.” The man placed a hand over his heart.
“What do you mean Fitz didn’t make the trip?” Kris asked, unnerved. “Where is he? Is he alright?” The more the man said, the more he freaked her out. He turned to face her, looking at her the same way he looked at the others – like they were famous celebrities.
“Kris Fletcher. Nomad. Your powers are incredible.” He smiled at her, awestruck.
“My powers … what?” She frowned, too stunned to speak. How did he know about her powers? How could anyone think they were incredible? All she ever did was hurt people and yet he seemed amazed. She felt even more uneasy and shrank away from him slightly. Mack noticed her discomfort and yelled at the man.
“Hey! How do you know us?”
“I’ve been studying you for years, your history. I mean, I always believed. I mean, I had moments, but they – they tried to take that last bit away from me, but I always believed the stories were true.”
“What stories?” Jemma asked angrily.
The man looked between them all again. “Well, this one. That you would … you would come.”
“To save you, Virgil?” Coulson cut in. “From those aliens that were attacking?”
“No, those … no. The Roaches are an anomaly, a glitch in the plan. Don't be crazy. You're not here to save me.”
“Who, then?”
“Uh … humanity.” Virgil lost some of his enthusiasm. The team looked around at each other. Virgil stuttered, “W-w– I’m sorry. This is a lot to dump on your plate, but how do you eat an elephant, right?” He chuckled at his own joke, expecting them to laugh along. They didn't. “This will make a lot more sense once I show you –”
He was cut off by something being stabbed through his head from behind. They all jumped back as a loud screech echoed around the room. Virgil’s body was pulled back into the darkness and the team ran for the door. Coulson stood still, staring in shock at the empty space where Virgil had just been standing. Mack grabbed his arm and pulled him from the room.
“Couldn't let that guy finish his sentence,” Coulson mumbled.
They ran into a corridor, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the room as possible. They heard another shriek and the sound of the door crashing open. Kris dared a quick glance back and saw a blue, spiky, four-legged creature tumble into the corridor. She turned her head forward and ran faster.
“Go, go.” Yo-Yo encouraged them. She slowed down and turned to face the thing. She shot some sort of laser gun at it and it shrieked again. She kept shooting but it dodged easily.
Kris’ heart was beating rapidly as panic and fear coursed through her. She did not sign up for this.
Coulson grunted and slammed his hand against the wall as they came to a dead end. Yo-Yo’s gun jammed as she tried desperately to fire again. Mack stepped in front of her, raising his wrench.
For the briefest moment, Kris considered running towards the alien. If she could get to it before it got to the team … If she could just touch it …
But fear gripped her, freezing her in place. The creature was faster than her; she knew she wouldn’t make it. Instead, she followed Mack’s lead, holding up her crowbar that she had only just managed to grab before fleeing the room.
The creature jumped at them but suddenly exploded in midair. Behind it stood Daisy, her arm outstretched. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Right?” Daisy asked.
“Yes, that was right, and not the only one,” Coulson replied as the rest caught their breath.
~~~
As the group walked through the now-empty corridor, Daisy spoke up.
“So, is there anything you want to fill us in on, Coulson? Cause now’s the time.”
“You know what I know.” He looked confused.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with the little bargain that you made with the Ghost Rider?”
With all that had happened recently, Kris had completely forgotten about that.
“Yeah, that thing doesn’t ride for free. There has to be some price,” Mack added.
“Nope. This is all new to me. Sorry. It's – that's just the reality.”
“Well, maybe this isn’t reality,” Yo-Yo chimed in. The team looked at each other in confusion. “Maybe someone put us back in the Framework, and this is a simulation.”
As soon as she mentioned the word ‘Framework’, a chill went down Kris’ spine.
“Please god, no,” she whispered but it was drowned out by everyone talking all once.
“Please, we have to shut up about that,” Daisy said.
“Oh my god, if I even think about that my brain will explode,” Coulson groaned.
“Again, let's not just postulate.” Jemma got their attention. “Let’s apply scientific principles and consider the evidence we have.”
“Look, this is magic, okay?” Mack replied. “Can we all agree there’s some magic at play?”
“Magic is just science we don’t understand yet,” Jemma retorted, exasperated.
“Ah, please. We just got zapped through space by Stonehenge, and we’re trying to rule out the involvement of a flame-headed demon from east L.A.? Science, my ass.”
“He's got a point,” Kris interjected. “This is insane.”
Jemma rolled her eyes at Kris, and Mack turned to Yo-Yo.
“Now, let me see that gun. Maybe I can try to get it working.”
“Fitz would agree, but, apparently he didn't get taken.” Jemma turned to Daisy.
“No. At least, he wasn’t in the room with the monolith,” Daisy replied. “I was the last to go through. I saw it all.”
“Well, that's some relief. He’s safe from this, better off than we are.”
“Yeah. You okay?”
“Fine. What, do you think he isn’t better off? He has to be.” Kris could hear the panic rising in Jemma’s voice.
“No, that's not what I'm saying.”
“Jemma, I’m sure he’s fine.” Kris tried to calm her down. But Jemma ignored them both and continued talking.
“Or that he did something drastic? He wouldn’t do that. He was right there with us at the diner,” Jemma began speaking faster as she panicked more.
“No, I'm not saying any of that. It's just that you guys are constantly torn apart,” Daisy said.
“Cursed, as he would say.” Jemma rolled her eyes. “Well, I'm not afraid that he isn’t here. I'm thrilled. He’s no doubt working this problem, probably trying to get a message to us right now. Better for everyone he isn’t here.”
“Right. We still need one member of the team on Earth to get us home,” Kris reasoned. “Good thing it’s Fitz, too. He’s the only one who knows how to build the stuff we need to get back.”
“Yeah, you're probably right.” Jemma didn’t sound too convinced but Kris was just glad her friend wasn’t panicking anymore.
“Yeah, well, May did get pulled through,” Daisy addressed everyone. “I saw it. So we should find her.”
“We should split up,” Coulson suggested.
“Aw, hell no. No, no,” Mack said.
“Yeah, let’s not do that,” Yo-Yo added.
“We are sticking together, one hundred percent. Haven't you ever seen an alien movie?” Mack asked.
“Mack, it's the best way to cover the most ground,” Daisy advised.
“Okay, you see, you see. That’s exactly what they say before they get picked off one by one. And you know who the first one will be.”
“I’m with Mack on this one. All I know is that this place is dark and creepy and I don’t want to be wandering around a dark and creepy place by myself,” Kris cut in. “Plus we don’t have proper weapons. We’d be helpless if more of those things found us.”
Coulson looked to Daisy for more support.
“It’s your call, Boss.” She shrugged.
“Alright, fine. We stick together.”
The team moved closer and began walking through the corridor in a tight-knit group. They crouched a little, poised to fight, with Daisy leading them in case another alien showed up. Kris gripped her crowbar, eyes darting from one wall to the other.
“This has to be the coolest we’ve ever looked,” Coulson said sarcastically.
~~~
They rounded a corner and Daisy turned to Yo-Yo.
“Yo-Yo, want to scout up ahead?”
Yo-Yo readied herself. She moved forward slightly before returning to her spot with a gust of wind.
“All clear for now.”
The team continued walking. They had spaced out a bit after encountering empty corridor after empty corridor. Daisy and Yo-Yo had stayed at the front, leading the team, while Coulson and Jemma hung at the back of the group, discussing how and possibly when the place had been built. Mack walked alongside Kris and bumped her gently with his shoulder. She side-stepped away from the contact and turned to look at him.
“You okay, Trouble?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” she replied automatically. He tilted his head and gave her a look that told her he knew she was lying. She sighed. “I – I'm sorry. About freezing up back there, in the dead end. I was going to use my powers on the alien, but I was scared that if I tried to touch it, it would kill me before I got the chance. I forgot I could just … that I could use my powers without touching it.”
“Hey, no need to apologise. Your powers work differently now and you’re still getting used to it. No one is expecting you to be an expert right away. And besides, you didn’t freeze up. You stepped up ready to fight that thing with a crowbar. That's pretty badass.” He smiled at her and she couldn’t help but smile back, her mood lifting for a moment. Until she remembered the danger they had been in.
“I should get a handle on it soon though. If Daisy didn’t show up, we could have died.”
“Kris –” he started, but he was cut off by Yo-Yo calling for them. They rushed further ahead to see a flare lying on the floor. Mack hurried back to get Jemma and Coulson.
They stood staring at it, unsure about what to do. The flare died as the others caught up with them. Mack approached the nearby door and everyone moved behind him. He got a confirmation nod from Coulson before kicking the door open. They barged inside only to find an empty room.
Well, not completely empty. A couple of bodies were lying on the floor, seemingly killed the same way as the ones in the other room.
“Nothing,” Daisy sighed.
“Nothing alive,” Yo-Yo corrected her.
As they looked around, Coulson caught their attention. He walked across the room, eyes fixed on the floor. As Kris got closer, she saw what he was looking at. A trail of blood leading further into the room. He picked up a jacket on the floor next to the blood.
May’s jacket.
“They didn’t get to her, did they?” Yo-Yo asked, worried.
“May would’ve put up a fight. And they left the other bodies here.” Coulson looked behind them at the bodies on the floor. As Daisy turned to follow his gaze, she bumped into a console against the wall.
“‘Water Reclamation’,” she read aloud.
Coulson walked over to the console. “You were right, Jemma.”
“I figured it out using magic,” she joked, sending Mack a pointed look. Kris chuckled at her friend. Daisy started pressing buttons and the console lit up.
“We can try and find a layout and track May.”
They all watched Daisy pull up a map of what appeared to be space.
“It’s in English,” Jemma observed. “They're tracking debris fields called ‘frozen oceans’. They’re collecting water from ice in space. This is a colony.” She and Daisy turned back to the others.
“Which means unless they all came through a monolith –” Coulson was cut off by Daisy.
“Then we’re close enough to Earth for people to travel here.”
“And we can get home,” Mack added.
“Oh thank god for that. At least, there's one piece of good news today,” Kris sighed.
“I wouldn't be too hasty. We still don’t have any means of transportation,” Coulson reminded her.
“Yes, but collecting ice means they have a spacecraft,” Jemma offered. “And if they have a spacecraft, they must have a laser-based rapid-transmission system. If we can find the ship and fly above the debris field –”
“We can send a message,” Coulson interjected.
“We can send a message to Fitz back on Earth,” Jemma finished.
“Okay, okay, so if I can find a layout, find a ship, find May, it's a start.” Daisy looked back at the console. “This interface looks similar to –”
She was cut off by the monitor beeping. A message flashed up on the screen saying in large capital letters:
HUMAN ACCESS DENIED
Underneath that was writing in a language Kris had never seen before. Daisy looked down at a pad with a hand-shaped outline. It had similar writing on it.
“Coulson, do you recognise this language?” she asked.
He approached the monitor and took a look.
“No. I don’t think humans are running this place after all.”
Then there was a thud on a door next to them. They all turned to look at the source of the noise. The doors burst open and three tall blue aliens entered the room. One of them raised a gun while another slammed a staff into Yo-Yo. She fell back and Mack stepped forward, punching the alien in the face. His head whipped to the side but he seemed mostly unaffected as he turned back to Mack. The one with the gun raised it in the air, and a pulse of light shot out of it, knocking them all out.
~~~
Kris began to stir, feeling the cold hard floor under her for the second time today.
Someone grabbed her leg, and she shot up. The blue alien holding her ankle snarled at her and she kicked him. The hard sole of her combat boot connected with his skull with a sickening crunch. But his grip on her only tightened.
She glanced quickly around the room and realised no one else was awake. She felt panic rising in her chest and her throat closing, making it hard to breathe. In a brief moment of clarity, she realised she could use her panic to strengthen her powers. The alien holding her suddenly let go, growling as pain shot through his arm. She scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, fighting the lightheadedness.
The other two aliens advanced towards her. Kris searched the room again, looking for her crowbar this time. It had rolled away under a table but as she tried to move towards it, the one with the staff grabbed her arm so hard she was certain it would bruise. He raised the weapon above his head, ready to bring it down on her. She sent a wave of pain through his hand and up his arm. He recoiled and cried out in pain, letting go of her.
The other reached out for her, grabbing her ponytail. He yanked her head backwards painfully, causing her to yelp. She elbowed him in the face, blue blood spattering out of his nose. His grip loosened just enough for her to slip away but he continued advancing towards her. She decided to use her new non-touch-related abilities against him. It was less controlled than the other attacks, causing him so much pain that he crumpled to the ground in agony.
She used this chance to escape, dodging the first alien who had recovered. She pulled the door open and fled into the corridor. He stalked out after her but she kept running.
She rounded a corner but didn't hear any heavy footsteps following her. She stood against the wall, listening and breathing heavily. She heard one of the aliens in the room call out to the one in the corridor. She didn’t hear him move immediately but eventually, he retreated back into the room.
She could just about make out more talking and it was definitely a different language. Probably the one on the console. She dared to peek around the corner and saw them dragging her friends from the room. They went in the opposite direction she did, turning left at the end of the corridor. She followed them at a safe distance, always making sure they were out of sight before she rounded a corner.
Eventually, they stopped, waiting outside some large doors. The doors opened and they stepped inside a room. Kris could hear a mechanical humming and realised it must be a lift. She listened, waiting to hear how far down they went. The noise stopped shortly after the aliens entered, so they must only be one floor down.
When she heard the faint sound of the doors closing, she called the lift back up. Of course, this could be a trap. The aliens could be waiting for her when the doors opened, either in the lift or on the floor below. But she didn’t have a choice, she couldn’t lose track of her friends.
Thankfully, the lift was empty and, when she arrived at the lower floor, she hid next to the doors as they opened. After a cautious glance outside revealed no aliens, she stepped into the corridor. Of course, it was identical to the one above – grey walls that all looked exactly the same. She heard movement up ahead and went to check it out.
Peering round the corner, she saw the aliens, still holding her friends. Another one had joined them, and they were talking in low voices. Then they split off; two of them took Daisy, Coulson and Jemma, and the other two took Yo-Yo and Mack.
Shit. What was she supposed to do now?
She shifted position against the wall, and her jeans caught on something. She looked down and noticed a loose panel in the wall beside her. Opening it as quietly as possible, she realised it was a vent system. It seemed to lead off to the right, the way Daisy, Coulson, and Jemma were taken. So Kris decided to follow them.
She crept along the vents as quietly as she could. They were dirty and dusty, making it difficult to breathe, so she pulled her shirt over her mouth and nose. But at least she hadn’t seen any rats yet, so she supposed that was a bonus. She watched through a small grate as the aliens (were they Kree? Despite being an Inhuman, Kris had never seen a Kree before but Daisy did say they were tall and blue) put her friends in a cell. Then they shut the door with a loud bang and stood guard outside. They began talking to each other quietly and Kris guessed they were discussing what to do with their prisoners.
She needed to get them out of there. But rescuing them on her own was off the table; she had barely escaped three Kree, so there was no way she would be able to properly take down two of them by herself. Not without making a lot of noise and potentially alerting the other two, who she guessed were nearby. She considered going to find May but remembered the trail of blood they saw. May was probably injured, who knows how badly, so she wouldn’t be able to fight either. Besides, how would they find their way back to this cell? All these corridors looked the same.
As she tried to decide what to do, she heard Daisy’s voice.
“Hey.” Kris heard Daisy smack the door. “What are you gonna do with our friends?”
“Whatever we want,” one of the guards replied, in English this time. “Experiment. They knew the rule and they broke it.”
“They're not gonna make it easy for you.”
The guard approached the door. “No. They’ll beg for their lives, as you humans always do. I've done twenty-two rotations, and I have never observed anything else.”
Kris could hear her friends continuing their conversation inside the cell but their voices were too muffled to make out what they were saying. She moved further back to get a better view of the door. With the others awake, maybe they could take out the guards together. She would just need to get the door open first …
Then she caught sight of May making her way down the corridor towards the guards. She was leaning heavily against a man in a brown leather jacket and they were moving slowly. Her leg looked to be injured.
The man spoke quietly to one of the guards, who regarded him with disdain before opening the cell door. The man rushed inside and May followed. Kris craned her neck to get a better look, but she couldn’t see inside the room.
“Buddy!” he called out loudly. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys. Man, what a mess back there, huh?” Kris thought he sounded far too cheerful given the situation they were in.
“These poor suckers.” He seemed to be addressing the guards now. “Virgil – you know, from R&R? He was trying to scam these guys out of some tokens. This one came running to me begging for help, the poor thing.” Was he talking about May? Oh, she was not going to like that. “When I get my hands on that no-good louse, he’s gonna have some explaining to do. So where is Virgil anyway?”
Kris heard Coulson reply, but couldn’t make out what he said. His voice was quieter than the other man’s, making it hard to hear. Knowing Coulson, he probably told the truth – that Virgil was dead.
“Good.” The other man’s voice was still loud, but he seemed less cheerful now. “Good. Got what he deserved then, didn’t he? For trying to drag these poor transfers up from processing into the wet works just to steal their Metrics.”
What the hell was he talking about? How big was this place? What was a Metric and why would someone want to steal it?
“So, he’s just Roach food then, huh?” The man continued. “One more vacancy, right?” He sounded as though he was trying to put a positive spin on the situation but Kris didn’t buy it. Perhaps Virgil was a friend of his.
She heard Coulson mumble something that sounded like agreement.
“Guys, what did I say about trusting Virgil, huh? We went over this. What did I say?”
Jemma and Daisy replied but Kris didn’t bother trying to hear exactly what. They were probably playing along by now.
“God, you repeated it back to me, and we said back – it was like a pass-and-catch thing.” The man’s voice began to get quieter. Maybe he was wrapping up this little act. He stepped outside the cell, back into Kris’ view, and spoke to the guards. “Look, I really appreciate your help with these guys, but I can take them off your hands.”
She saw the man lean in towards the guard and whisper something to him. The guard seemed unconvinced. The man leaned closer, still talking in a hushed voice. The guard seemed to consider whatever offer the man made him before stepping aside and allowing everyone to leave with the stranger.
The man turned back into the cell. “All good, gang. So, single file.” He walked back into the corridor, leading them away from the cell.
Suspicious of this newcomer, Kris followed them, waiting until they were in an empty corridor to kick out the vent covering. The team turned around, ready to fight, but relaxed when they saw her.
“What the hell?” Daisy exclaimed. “Where have you been?”
“I managed to escape before they dragged us away.” Kris brushed her hands over her clothes, trying to get rid of the dust and dirt clinging to her.
“How?”
“They thought it would be a good idea to touch me,” Kris smirked and Daisy returned it.
“So, it works on non-humans?” Jemma inquired. Kris shrugged.
“Apparently.”
“Good to know. Could be useful,” Daisy murmured.
“Speaking of non-humans,” Kris added, “those were definitely Kree, right? Tall, blue, want to experiment on humans?”
“Yep, definitely Kree,” Daisy answered.
Kris smiled ruefully. “Oh, great. As if this couldn’t get any worse.”
The new guy gave Kris a strange look and then turned to Coulson. “What the hell happened to Virgil? The Roaches get him?”
“Sorry to say. Was he a friend?”
“Acquaintance. He owed me a ton of tokens for this job.”
“Job?” Jemma asked.
“All he said was that he wanted to hide some people. That's not unheard of. So I was hired to supply the Metrics and swap them out.”
Kris turned around to face him. She hadn't been paying much attention to what he was saying, she was too busy looking out for more Kree guards. But there was that word again.
“But you guys don't even have Metrics,” he continued. “Which means that you don't have the tokens to cover Virgil’s end, so have fun.” Then he turned his gaze to Kris, their eyes meeting for the first time. “What about you? I don't suppose you have a Metric?”
“No, I don’t. I don’t even know what it is.”
“Fine. See ya.” The man turned away, ready to walk off down the corridor.
“Hey, wait, wait.” Daisy stopped him. “We need your help. We need to find our friends.”
“Your friends?” He stepped towards her. “Your friends attacked a Kreeper. They’re as good as gone. Those blues are bred to kill, so you just – you make your peace with it.” He said that last part through gritted teeth. Kris had a feeling he was speaking from personal experience.
“We’ll take our chances,” Coulson said. “Listen, if you could just help us find them and then get to the spacecraft –”
“You mean the Trawler?” The man interrupted. “To do what? The only pilot I knew was Virgil. May he rest in peace, apparently. So best of luck to all you guys, but mine’s running out.” He seemed ready to leave again but Coulson stopped him.
“You got a name?”
The man hesitated. “Deke.”
“Well, Deke, we just wanted pie. And now we don’t know where we are or what’s going on, and we finally found someone who does, so you’re not walking away.”
Out of nowhere, a scream echoed down the corridor. It was Yo-Yo. May grabbed Deke while he was distracted and attached something to his torso. It lifted him off the ground, pulling him back until he slammed into the wall.
“Where’s the Trawler?” Jemma asked, angrily. Deke sighed.
“Take a lift down to Level Nine. You can’t miss it.”
They all turned to Coulson.
“May, take Simmons,” he ordered. “Get that spacecraft in the air. Send out the signal.” He pressed a button on a control panel on the wall. The lift doors opened and Jemma and May stepped inside. “Daisy and I will find Mack and Yo-Yo. Kris, stay with him.” He nodded at Deke. “If he moves, hurt him.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, crossing her arms and turning her attention to the man on the wall.
The man, Deke, looked her up and down, assessing her. He gave her an arrogant look, suggesting he had come to the conclusion that she wasn’t a threat to him. She raised her eyebrow at him then tilted her chin up, silently daring him to try something.
“No, no, wait.” Daisy grabbed Coulson’s arm. “You stay here.”
“What?”
“I’ve got two good fighters down there once I get their restraints off. I’ll be fine. We can’t lose our leader again.” She paused. “We need answers.”
“Want me to stay here and grill this guy?” Coulson asked. “Kris can do that on her own.”
“We shouldn’t leave anyone on their own,” Daisy said, looking to Kris for support. Kris thought about it and then nodded in agreement. “Find out where the hell and what the hell … sir,” she added as an afterthought.
Coulson nodded and joined Kris as Daisy ran off to search for Mack and Yo-Yo.
“Good plan,” Deke said sarcastically.
“You got a better one?” Kris retorted.
“Yeah, don’t piss off the Kree.”
“Sorry, that’s not our style.”
“What do the Kree want with us, Deke?” Coulson crossed his arms.
“All they ever want,” Deke replied ominously. “Submission.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound good,” Kris mumbled to Coulson.
“No,” he replied. “It does not.”
They heard a buzzer drone loudly. Coulson released the device on Deke’s chest and he dropped to the ground. The three of them walked quickly away from the lift.
Coulson grabbed Deke, turning him to face them.
“What do you mean ‘submission’? Are the Kree planning some sort of attack?”
“Attack on whom, exactly?” Deke asked bitterly.
“Humans,” Coulson said at the same time as Kris said, “Earth.”
Deke frowned. “Why would they do that?”
“Because, historically, that’s what they always do,” Kris said sharply. “They never come in peace.”
“So, then why did the Kree build this place?” Coulson asked.
“They didn’t build the bunker. Humans did. Why don’t you know all these things?” Deke looked between them, still frowning. “Even in waste processing, they know the history …” He stopped suddenly, looking them over properly. “You’re not from processing, are you?”
“No,” Coulson retorted angrily. “I was enjoying a meal, and then I was taken and zapped to this place. I’m from Earth.”
“Yeah, well, that would be the one thing that I do know, wingnut.” Deke was getting more annoyed by the second. Kris watched their back and forth, ready to step in case it escalated. They didn’t know this Deke – he could get violent with them. “But from where? What area?”
“Manitowoc, Wisconsin.”
Deke scoffed and looked at Kris as if to say ‘Get a load of this guy’. She didn’t like that look.
“Sheffield, England,” she added coldly.
The derisive smile faded from Deke’s face. He leaned closer, inspecting their faces.
“Are you high on something? Can I have some?”
“This is ridiculous,” Kris snapped. “We’re not getting anywhere with him.”
Coulson didn’t reply, deep in thought.
“I’m ridiculous?” Deke scoffed again. She was starting to hate that. And him. And his attitude. But mostly him. “You’re the ones being deliberately dense. I mean, this stuff is common knowledge.”
Kris rolled her eyes at him when Coulson spoke up.
“That doesn’t make sense.” He sounded agitated. “How long ago did they build this place, and when did you first come here?”
“I don’t know.” Deke looked around anxiously. “They built it ninety-some-odd years ago, minimum. But I – what do you mean ‘come here’? I was born here.”
“You were what?” Kris was astonished.
“Ninety years ago? That – that’s impossible,” Coulson continued. “The tech in here couldn’t have been developed in the ‘20s.”
“Yeah, humans didn't even venture into space until the ‘60s. What the hell are you talking about?” Kris asked, bewildered.
“Space? What are you … Wait,” Deke hesitated, shaking his head. “No Metrics, no scars. Wisconsin, England, pie.” He looked between them, clearly putting something together. Kris did not like the look on his face. It made her uneasy. “Tell me again about when you were taken.”
“We were – we were sitting in our favourite diner just off Columbus Drive –” Coulson started.
“No, not – not where,” Deke cut him off. “When?”
There was a pause. Then it hit her. Kris understood what Deke was getting at. She didn’t want to but … Virgil had said he studied them for years, studied their history, but Kris only became a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent recently … there was no way … this couldn’t be happening.
“What year?” Deke pressed.
“That monolith was different, wasn’t it?” Coulson realised. “We didn’t travel through space …”
“We travelled through time,” Kris breathed out.
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#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Touch Me (TIFM) Memes: Fletchaw Edition Part 2
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) ~ Chapter 2
Word Count: 5.4k
Masterlist // AO3
Air hissed as the door to the Trawler hangar opened. Jemma and May climbed out.
“This is Earth,” May greeted them.
“We’re in the future,” Coulson said at the same time.
“How’d you even get the Trawler out?” Deke asked. “You’d need the key.”
Jemma held up the thing that Coulson had fished out of Virgil’s pockets. Deke looked annoyed.
“So what, you guys steal from dead people?”
“We took it before he died,” Kris retorted. “We were going to give it back.”
Deke shot her an unconvinced look, but Jemma ignored both of them and turned to Coulson.
“It’s all destroyed.” She sounded exhausted. “Coulson, please tell me it’s impossible.”
“I think we can all agree at this point that anything is possible,” he replied. “Glad you’re alright.”
“Wait, what do you mean ‘destroyed’?” Kris asked, frowning.
“I mean cracked like an egg,” Jemma replied. “Only a small part of the Northern Hemisphere remains.”
“And everything else?”
“Gone. Floating around in space.”
“My god.” Kris was appalled. This kept going from bad to worse. “So, where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know. Your guy, Virgil,” Coulson turned to Deke, “he didn’t tell you anything else about his plan to bring us back from the past?”
“I’m just still trying to fit all these ideas inside my skull,” Deke replied unhelpfully.
“And you haven’t heard anything about a gateway? A rock that transports people?”
“If I had, you think I’d still be here?”
“There was no second monolith when I landed on Maveth,” Jemma interjected.
“So we’ll have to find our own way back,” May concluded.
There was a pause and they turned to look at Jemma.
“Well, I’m a biologist,” she said. “But sure, I can invent time travel, just give me a minute.”
“Well, without some miracle, then we’re stuck here,” Coulson said, “and we need to stay alive.”
Now, they all turned to Deke.
“Oh, and you …” he started, “you … you all want me to help you with that? Yeah, well that’s a big surprise.” He rummaged in his bag. “Well, all I can offer you is these. So, who’s first?”
He held out some circular devices. May stepped closer to him angrily.
“You think I’m gonna let you do that to anyone else?”
Deke leaned into her, pointing aggressively. “You are lucky that I’m even offering,” he hissed. “The only way to not die is to blend in and work hard. And you can’t do either of those things without these.”
“Wait, what are they?” Kris asked. “And what did you do to May?”
May rolled up her sleeve, showing the device impaled through her bloody wrist. Kris and Jemma gasped but Deke seemed unaffected.
“These are Metrics,” he explained to her, showing her his own. “You wanna get work or tokens or whatever, you need these.”
“Yeah, no.” Kris couldn’t tear her eyes away from May’s wrist. “Absolutely not.”
“Did you listen to a word I just said?” Deke asked, annoyed.
“Alright, look –” Kris whipped around to confront him but Coulson stopped her. He took the Metrics from Deke and pocketed them.
“Come on. Keep moving,” Deke ushered them away from the Trawler.
“What do they do?” Coulson asked. “Track us? I don’t think we want that.”
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Deke replied.
“Deke?” A voice called from behind them. The group turned to see a woman walking towards them.
“Tess, yeah, sure, join the fray.” Deke looked exasperated.
“You took out the damn Trawler?” she, Tess, asked. “Where’s Virgil? If you lifted off in that thing without …” She shoved a metal pipe into Deke’s chest. “What? What’s wrong with your face?”
“I’m sorry,” Coulson addressed her as Deke looked down, avoiding meeting her eyes. “Virgil’s gone.”
The corridor was silent as Tess processed this. Then she turned back to Deke. “Deke … this true?”
He nodded solemnly. “Roaches got him on Three.”
“What was he doing on Three, Deke?” Tess shoved him. “That’s a sealed-off level.”
“This wasn’t my –” Deke tried to explain.
“What did you get him into –” Tess shoved him again, harder this time, the grief evident in her voice.
“I … he hired me –”
“– you piece of waste!”
“Listen!” Deke grabbed her pipe which she was gesturing aggressively with. “He hired me to hide these people.”
“From where?” Tess looked at them suspiciously.
“Well, that’s the thing,” Deke continued. “Remember all that deranged garbage that Virgil was always spouting about people arriving from the past? I think you’re looking at ‘em.”
Tess scoffed quietly. “That’s insane.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true,” May interjected.
“We came through a gateway,” Jemma explained. “Some sort of temporal shift.”
“I don’t want to believe it either, but look at their clothes.” Deke pointed them. “They got matching buttons. Not exactly locals.”
That was when Kris properly took in Deke’s appearance. His brown leather jacket was worn, his black trousers were covered in dirt and stains, and his heavy-looking boots had definitely seen better days. He looked as rough as Kris felt.
“How can we prove it to you?” Coulson asked. He rummaged in his pockets, pulling out a coin. “Here. It’s from last year. Still shiny.” He showed it to them, but Tess grabbed his arm, inspecting his wrist.
“You don’t have a Metric. Never did.” She pulled away. “That’s … too weird.” She and Deke exchanged glances. “Virgil said you’d be agents of –”
“S.H.I.E.L.D. Pleased to meet you,” Coulson said.
“Then there should be more of you.” Tess looked around.
“There’s one girl who went to go pry the others away from the Kree guards,” Deke informed her.
“You let them go face the Blues?” Tess raised her voice at him.
“I didn’t let them – they do whatever they want!” Deke raised his voice too, gesturing at them. “It’s like herding rats.”
“So, go get them!” Tess ordered.
“Me? No!” Deke shook his head, chuckling in disbelief. “No. Think again. They are radioactive. Virgil already got himself wasted. I intend to learn something from his vacancy.”
He walked away, throwing the pipe on the floor with a clatter.
“I’ll double his price,” Tess called after him. He stopped walking and turned. He waited to see if she was serious, but she didn't back down.
“You don’t even know the number that you just agreed to,” he said. “Alright, fine. You stash these people, you make them blend in. I'll see if I can … talk the others out of certain death.”
He walked past them to the end of the corridor.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Kris called out. He stopped again and turned to shoot her an annoyed look.
“What now?” he groaned.
“I’m not letting you go on your own.”
“Why not?” he asked antagonistically.
“Because I don’t trust you, that’s why,” she retorted, crossing her arms.
He scoffed at her and rolled his eyes. She really wanted to punch him.
“Kris, go with him,” Coulson ordered, then lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Keep a close eye on him.”
“Yes, sir.”
She walked to the end of the corridor where Deke was still standing. She met his gaze, not breaking eye contact as she brushed past him. He rolled his eyes again and followed her.
~~~
They walked in silence until Deke spoke up.
“So, what’s your name, then?”
Kris looked over at him and, remembering how much Virgil knew about her, decided not to answer. She turned back to face the corridor ahead.
Deke sighed, exasperated. “You could at least tell me your name if you’re going to be following me around.”
“I told you, I don’t trust you,” she stated simply.
“You don’t even know me,” he replied, offended.
Kris stopped dead and spun around to face him fully. “What did you say to that guard?”
“What?”
“Outside the cell, I saw you whispering to one of the guards. What did you say?”
“That’s my business, not yours, sweetheart.”
Without thinking, Kris punched him. His head jerked to the side, and he reeled back a few steps.
“What the hell?” He clutched his jaw, rubbing it tenderly.
“Don’t ever call me that again,” Kris hissed, leaning in close to make sure he knew she meant it. “And you can drop the condescending tone while you’re at it.”
She turned on her heel and kept walking. He jogged slightly to catch up with her.
“Message received. Loud and clear,” he muttered sarcastically. “Seems unnecessarily violent, though.”
“Consider that a warning.” She didn’t even spare him a glance. “Call me that again, and I promise I’ll do a lot worse.”
“Alright fine.” He held up his hands. “So how exactly am I meant to address you, Miss No-Name?”
She sighed. “I’m Kris. Kris Fletcher.”
Deke slowed for a second. “Kris Fletcher?” he repeated, stunned.
“Yep. Let me guess, you heard stuff about me from Virgil?” she asked, annoyed.
“Something like that,” he mumbled. Kris shot him a curious glance but didn’t press any further. “Well, it’s real nice to meet you,” Deke continued sarcastically.
“Likewise.” Kris scowled.
Deke opened a heavy door into what looked like a boiler room. Suddenly, Yo-Yo rounded a corner, holding an axe above her head.
“No, no, no, no!” Daisy yelled. “He’s alright. He’s alright.”
Yo-Yo stopped and glanced at Kris, who tilted her head to the side. “Still up for debate.”
Yo-Yo lowered the axe.
“How did you get that Kreeper’s axe?” Deke asked, easing out of the defensive stance he had taken when Yo-Yo ran at him. “Please tell me he was sweet on you.” He moved past her, further into the room. He looked down at the body at Daisy’s feet. “You killed a Kree?”
“It was us or them,” Yo-Yo explained.
“Well, you made the wrong choice!”
“Is that gonna be a problem?” Mack asked, emerging with another body.
“Two?” Deke spread his arms out in disbelief. “You killed two?”
“So?” Kris asked. “They’re not exactly easy to get away from. I had to fight three of them earlier.”
“You did what?” Deke was more agitated now. “You said you escaped, you didn’t mention fighting them.”
“Kinda figured that was a given.” Kris shrugged.
Deke sighed. “Yeah, well that’s only gonna be a problem for the herd of people that they’re gonna kill in retaliation. We gotta cover this up.” He looked around for a place to hide them.
“What do you think we’re doing?” Yo-Yo asked, irritated.
“We could just make it look like an accident,” Daisy suggested.
“Shut up! Just let me think,” Deke argued.
“Wait a minute,” Mack interjected. “What if we leave ‘em upstairs with the other bodies? Use the elevator?”
“Yeah, didn’t Tess say that’s a sealed-off floor?” Kris backed him up. “The other guards won’t go looking there. And if they do, they’ll just think the Roaches got them. Right?”
“We can’t exactly be seen in the lift with a pair of dead guards,” Deke said.
“Well, maybe we don’t put them in the elevator,” Mack suggested.
Deke thought about it for a moment. “Alright, well, I hope you saved some of your energy there, Tiny.”
~~~
The group looked up at the silhouettes of the bodies above them.
“Great,” Daisy said sarcastically.
“You couldn’t have told us there was a skylight?” Mack asked Deke.
“What’s a skylight?” Deke asked back.
The others stared at him. Mack shook his head. “Oh, boy. It is what it is.”
“Right, we should probably catch you up,” Kris spoke up. “May and Jemma took the Trawler took out. We can’t send a message to Earth because this is Earth. And we’re in the future.”
“We’re what?” Daisy blinked in surprise.
“You have got to be joking,” Mack added while Yo-Yo swore in Spanish.
“Unfortunately not,” Kris grimaced. “We’re in some sort of bunker because the planet has been destroyed. So everyone in here is what’s left of humanity.”
“Right … wow.” Daisy put her hands on her hips.
“Yeah.” Kris turned to Deke. “So, just to be clear, when you said ‘bunker’, is it safe to assume we’re underground?”
“For the most part, yeah,” he replied. “Some levels have windows out into space though.”
“So, do you know what happened? To Earth, I mean? It’s not like the planet just cracked by itself.”
“I’m sorry,” Yo-Yo interrupted. “Cracked?”
“‘Like an egg’ was the phrase Jemma used,” Kris replied flatly.
Yo-Yo shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Kris turned back to Deke. “So? What happened?”
“How should I know?” Deke answered. “Everyone’s got their own stories but who knows which is true, if any.”
“So what stories do you know? Anything would help us out a lot.”
Deke narrowed his eyes. “You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”
“So?” She raised her eyebrow at him.
“It’s gonna get you killed,” he warned.
“Seems like everything is out to kill us. What makes this any different?”
“Look, I'm just trying to help. And maybe if you didn’t go into things fists swinging –”
“Maybe if you weren’t so condescending –”
“So, making friends with the locals is going well then,” Mack muttered sarcastically.
“You try being friendly to someone like this,” Kris replied, gesturing aimlessly at Deke.
“Friendly?” Deke scoffed. “You haven’t been anywhere near friendly –”
“This is me being friendly.”
“Well, you seriously need to work on your people skills.”
“Oh, that is rich coming from you.”
“You punched me!”
“You deserved it!”
The elevator doors opened, causing them to go quiet. The corridor was dark and empty but now that Kris knew what was hiding in the shadows, it was a lot more ominous. They took the bodies down from the roof and dragged them through the corridor.
“We got to come up with a system ‘cause I’m not doing this every time we take out a Kree!” Mack complained.
“The system is ‘no more dead Kree’!” Deke exclaimed. “We’re two past maximum. Hopefully, the bodies are still warm enough for the Roaches to take ‘em. Here, right here. That’s the door.”
They kicked open the door and left the Kree inside. As they hurried out, Yo-Yo reminded Daisy to close the door behind them.
“Daisy?” Deke asked. “Pretty name. Like the flower?”
“Does that line work in the future?” Daisy quipped.
“I guess not.”
“So,” Kris tried to get answers out of Deke again, “you’ve never read a history book or anything that recorded what really happened?”
“History book? Are you kidding?” Deke scoffed. “The Kree destroyed all of those decades ago.”
“Uh oh, now they’re in trouble.” Mack smirked. “They’ve messed with Kris’ one true love.”
The others chuckled, while Deke looked between them.
“So, what, you’re, like, a historian or something?”
“Yep. And I have a degree to prove it.” Kris smiled proudly. “So, that means it’s my job to ask questions. One way or another, I’m going to get the answers I need. So, come on, tell us what you know.”
“I don’t know anything.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Kris shrugged casually. “I’ll just ask someone else.”
“The hell you will.” Deke’s response was immediate. “Did you not hear what I said about how that’ll get you killed? May I remind you, that you’re trying not to draw attention to yourselves. If you’re caught –”
“If I’m caught by the Kree, I’ll just rat you out to them as well,” she interrupted. “I’m sure they would be delighted to know that you’ve been helping us out from the start.” Deke glared at her and she smiled innocently. “Or you could just tell us what you know and the Kree will be none the wiser.”
Deke stepped closer, towering over her. “I told you. I. Don’t. Know. Anything.”
Kris stepped forward too, the smile dropping off her face as she stared back at him defiantly. “I. Don’t. Believe. You.”
They stayed like that, staring each other down. The screech of nearby Roaches echoed through the empty corridor.
“You can argue later. Let’s just get out of here,” Mack suggested, looking between them.
Kris stayed where she was, unwilling to back down.
Deke was the first to take a step back. “Agreed.”
~~~
They took the elevator down to Level Ten. As soon as the doors opened, they were met with a different view of the place than they were used to. The floor was full of people bustling about, chatting and making exchanges. It was a stark contrast to the empty floors above.
“Hey,” Yo-Yo grabbed their attention, nodding to Coulson and May.
They rushed over to them, Yo-Yo and May hugging.
“At least you’re okay,” Coulson said grimly.
“What do you mean?” Daisy asked. “Wait –”
“Where’s Jemma?” Kris cut her off, looking around for her friend.
Coulson and May exchanged a serious look. “The Kree took her,” May informed them.
“What?” Daisy and Kris asked in unison. At the same time, Yo-Yo asked, “How?”
“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Deke pulled Tess away from the group.
May explained what had happened, how Jemma had tried to save someone’s life. Guilt twisted Kris’ stomach. She should have been here. She should have been around to help Jemma.
“We have to get Simmons,” Daisy said. “Hit them hard and fast and get up to the surface.”
“There’s barely any surface left, Daisy,” May interjected. “The planet’s been blown apart.”
“And what’s there is uninhabitable,” Coulson continued. “So out, not an option. As far as in here –”
“We get Simmons,” Yo-Yo added. “I’ll do it. They won’t know what hit them.”
“Hey, hold up,” Mack joined in. “No one knows you three have abilities, so let’s keep it that way. For the moment. But right now … at this moment we don’t know jack squat about anything.”
“Including where Simmons is being held,” Coulson continued.
“Yeah, first we need to scope this place out,” Kris added. “Gather as much insight into the state of things as we can.”
“Exactly,” Coulson confirmed.
“Deke,” Daisy glanced over at the man. “He seems to have this place dialled in. He might know where Simmons is.”
“He definitely knows more than he’s letting on,” Kris agreed.
“He’s too afraid of making noises,” Yo-Yo reminded them.
“Yeah, that’s ‘cause he’s protecting himself,” Daisy said. “He has a scam up and running.”
“He’s afraid we’re gonna blow it for him,” Coulson continued. “I agree.”
“I’ll tail him. Dig up some dirt,” Daisy offered. “Encourage him to help us.”
“I’ll go too,” Kris chimed in. “You said yourself we shouldn’t leave anyone on their own. Not until we know what exactly we’re dealing with.”
Daisy and Coulson nodded in agreement.
“Those tablets could have intel,” May added.
“Hello? Yo-Yo, master thief.” Yo-Yo smirked.
Kris glanced over her shoulder and saw Deke heading away down the corridor. “Hey,” she whispered, getting Daisy’s attention and nodding in his direction.
“That’s our ride,” Daisy said. “Wish us luck. We’ll meet back here, yeah?”
And with that, they wandered away, following Deke at a safe distance.
~~~
They had been tailing Deke for a while. He seemed to be doing normal things – chatting with people, buying things, and so on. Now, they were in a less populated part of the floor, so staying out of sight was becoming more difficult.
Deke stopped to speak to someone sitting on the floor. Daisy and Kris waited behind the corner, peering around to keep an eye on him. The two men shook hands (or exchanged tokens perhaps? Kris wasn’t sure) and Deke was off again.
They turned the corner at the end of the corridor to find a dead end. Deke had seemingly vanished into thin air. They exchanged a glance, then Daisy stretched out her hand. Kris moved behind her, keeping watch in case someone were to walk past. Kris heard Daisy using her powers, the vibrations bouncing off solid walls. Until the wall wasn’t solid. A door creaked open and Kris turned to find Daisy smirking, pleased with herself.
Daisy was right, Deke did have a secret.
Daisy pushed the door open further and they ventured inside. At the bottom of a set of stairs was an open space. It was partly obscured by thin curtains, which they walked towards. Still no sign of Deke.
Through the curtains, numerous people were passed out beside red lamps. Some sort of device was attached to the ceiling above them. It was eerily silent. They exchanged a wary glance and picked their way through carefully and quietly, unwilling to disturb any of the unconscious people.
Daisy pulled another curtain aside to reveal Deke passed out on some kind of reclined deck chair.
“So all this talk about protecting people,” Daisy spoke in a low voice as she approached him, “and you’re worried about your speakeasy.” Suddenly she collapsed, pulling the curtain down with her.
Kris rushed to her side. As soon as she was inside, everything seemed to slow down. Her head swam and her body felt weak. Her vision blurred and her ears rang slightly as she also fell to the floor.
Then the darkness of the speakeasy became blindingly bright light. Kris groaned as her eyes adjusted.
The sky. She was looking at the sky. She sat up and took in her surroundings. Daisy was next to her, equally as confused.
Then Kris noticed the building in front of them. It was too smooth, too flawless, too clean. It looked like terrible CGI but in real life.
No, not real life. The clouds above were perfect replicas of each other, floating in straight lines. This wasn’t real. But that meant it had to be …
No. There was no way. It couldn’t be.
She looked over at Daisy and realised she was thinking exactly the same thing.
They were back in the Framework.
~~~
They stood up slowly, still adjusting to new surroundings. Kris scanned the area, trying to hide her rising panic. What if Aida was here? Surely she couldn’t be? It had been decades …
But still … she was clever. What if she had found a way to survive?
Kris pushed those thoughts away and tried to slow her breathing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Daisy take off towards the building in front of them as Deke disappeared inside.
Right, Deke. Of course. They were following Deke. Kris focussed her attention back on the mission at hand and followed Daisy.
Inside was a bar. Everything looked so real. Well, more real than outside. This was the kind of Framework they were used to.
TVs hung on the walls, showing a blonde news anchor. Small red lanterns sat on each table, matching the red leather barstools. Other patrons were gathered around a pool table at the back wall. Deke was sitting at the bar, reading a newspaper.
“Where is it?” Deke asked the barman. “Did you throw out the old papers?”
“Yeah, it was a mess,” the barman replied, handing him a pint.
“Stop doing that. You’re always cleaning.”
“Yeah, you programmed me to.” So, the barman wasn’t real. Kris studied his face. She never would have guessed. All that time in the Framework and she still couldn’t tell the difference between real and not real.
“Really?” Deke put down the newspaper. “Because I don’t remember programming you to talk back to me.” The barman just stared at him. “That was a joke … because I did program you to talk … Just … will you find the papers please?”
“Yeah.” The barman walked away.
Deke sighed, picking up the paper again.
“You may as well pull up a stool and have a beer.” Even though he wasn’t looking at them, Kris knew he was talking to her and Daisy.
Daisy walked further inside, but Kris hung back by the door. “Clearly, you’re a talented pusher, but I’ll pass, thanks.” Daisy didn’t sound impressed.
“It’s probably for the best,” Deke still didn’t look up from his paper, “because I have no idea what actual beer tasted like.”
“Want to tell me where I am?” Daisy hopped on the stool next to him. One of the other patrons passed by Kris. She suspected that they were all fake too. An uneasy feeling rippled through her. She leaned back against the wall, hoping to appear casual while still monitoring the room and covering her back.
“You’re passed out at my place of business,” Deke answered nonchalantly. “You got too close to my transmitters when you were stalking me.” He finally looked up at them, punctuating his point. But he quickly turned back to the paper, obviously searching for something.
“So, this is your racket? You’re – you’re pimping out the Framework?” Daisy asked.
Deke’s head shot up. He stared for a moment, eyes flitting between the two of them. “I never called it that. But, yeah. That’s the technology the hardware interface is based on.” He folded up the paper. “I had to rebuild the software from scratch because Kasius had the historical archives erased. But I was able to get my hands on the servers. I gathered bits of data here and there and … the rest is guesswork.” He turned towards them fully, his tone of voice indicating that he was proud of himself.
“Are you an idiot?” Kris demanded. “What on Earth made you think this was a good idea? We worked our asses off to destroy this thing and you go and rebuild it?”
“Wait, S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed the Framework?” Deke asked.
Well, technically Aida had shut it down, but Deke didn’t need to know that. “Yeah, for very good reasons. It’s dangerous.”
“Your customers don’t know the difference,” Daisy interjected. “You’ve got ‘em addicted to Earth-as-it-was scenarios.”
“Among other simulations, yes,” Deke said.
“So, this is the business that you’re protecting? Your creepy opium den of fantasy?”
“Well, I can’t get real opium, so …” Deke stood up. “I’m selling escape. The other way out of here is the final exit.”
“They’re trading one prison for another,” Daisy argued.
Deke stopped what he was doing. He stepped closer to Daisy. “You think the Lighthouse is a prison? Sweetheart … prison would be nice.”
“The Lighthouse?” Kris asked. “Is that what this place is called?”
Deke nodded. “But what I want to know is, why were you following me?”
“We need to save Simmons,” Daisy told him. “You know this place well. How do we get her back?”
“Simmons? The one taken by the Kree? She’s gone. You’ll never see her again.”
“We’re not just going to give up on her!” Kris exclaimed.
“The Kree have her.” Deke paced up and down, agitated. “You can’t help her. To try is too dangerous.”
“You said the same thing about Mack and Yo-Yo,” Daisy reminded him. “How’d that turn out?”
“A catastrophe!” Deke yelled, spreading his arms out. “This entire place is a very delicate ecosystem, and you all just keep taking a leak in the water left and right!”
“‘Ecosystem’? There is no ecosystem,” Kris pointed out. “There’s only two species living here. Three, if you count the Roaches. This is a very simple ‘us versus them’ situation. Humanity versus the alien dictators. And humanity has the numbers –”
“You cannot seriously be suggesting revolution. We depend on the Kree to survive.”
“Do you? Do you really? ‘Cause from where I’m standing, it seems like the Kree don’t give you anything. All they do is take stuff away: food, clothes, technology, history, freedom. You can’t tell me they provide anything of use.”
“They provide order,” Deke argued.
“Humans are perfectly capable of providing order by themselves. And this isn’t order, this is a dictatorship.”
“Fine, I agree, the Kree are dangerous.” Deke threw his hands up. “But revolution is even more dangerous.”
“You’re worried we’ll mess this up, or we’ll mess this up for you?” Daisy asked Deke, standing up to join him. “I mean, do the Kree even know about this operation? Because –”
“Of course they know about it,” Deke replied. “They’re crazy about it because I’m – I’m improving people’s lives.” Kris scoffed in disbelief, causing him to turn to her. “I’m giving them something other than just hour after hour of endless grind.”
That was when Kris put two and two together. “That’s what you offered the guard. When you got the others out of prison. You didn’t bribe him with money, you bribed him with this.”
“Exactly. It keeps everyone happy. Kree and humans alike.”
“The Kree only condone it because it keeps people placid,” Daisy argued. “I have seen the Framework in action before. Pretend that wishes are coming true so the real hope dies!”
Wishes coming true. Kris’ dad’s face flashed before her eyes. She shut her eyes, trying to make it go away. Trying to stop the wave of sadness washing over her.
“Hope is what gets people killed, believe me.” Deke’s voice was quieter now but Daisy kept going.
“Make them forget reality so that they don’t try –”
“No, I’m making reality livable –”
“– to make a move to fix it!”
They shouted over each other, getting louder as they argued. Kris’ hands trembled and her breathing became shallow. Her knees felt weak so she leaned against the wall for support.
The memories of her father Aida had created, the fake memories, all came rushing back. They weren't real. She had to remind herself they weren't real. That version of her dad was just code, not flesh and blood. Her real father was dead. And it was her fault.
She balled her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms. She tried to focus on that stinging pain, not the panic bubbling away in her chest. Tears burned the backs of her eyes, so she shut them again. This wasn’t good. She couldn’t let this happen. Not here.
All of a sudden, Deke’s loud voice broke through her panic, jolting her back to the present. “The boat sank! Do you understand that?” There was a pause. Kris opened her eyes, trying to ground herself. “We are a breath away from extinction. We make one wrong move, and in a blink, mankind is gone for good.”
For the first time, Kris thought she saw genuine fear in Deke’s eyes. Or at least there was genuine fear in his voice. That might be the most honest thing he had said since they met. He looked over at her, at the TV above her head. Kris turned to look.
The news headline read ‘Agent Daisy Johnson a.k.a. Quake saves lives in Los Angeles’. Kris remembered that. Mace had lied to the news that Daisy had been working undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of being a vigilante. Another wave of sadness hit her as she remembered Mace.
“That … that … that’s it.” Deke grabbed the remote from the bar, pausing the report on Daisy’s face. “That’s what I’m looking for! That!”
He turned to look at Daisy, eyes wide. Kris couldn’t tell if he was afraid or horrified. But why would he be either? Daisy was a hero.
“Daisy Johnson.” He spoke with a certain kind of awe, just like Virgil except less excited. “And you say you’re not dangerous.”
“So, you know who I am?” Daisy asked, unconcerned.
“Quake.” Deke couldn’t take his eyes off her. “You see, I’m the one person that’s pieced the history together, who has an idea of what happened. You wanna know what kind of force can tear a planet apart? It was you.”
“You’re lying,” Kris interrupted. “You’ve been lying from the start. You told me you didn’t know anything and now you’re saying you know exactly what happened. Daisy is powerful, but not powerful enough to crack the planet. Your sources are wrong.”
“That so?” Deke raised an eyebrow at her.
“Yes. We’ll find out what really happened when we get back to our time. But for now, we need to focus on kicking the Kree off our planet.”
Deke scoffed. “You think if you work hard enough, if you inspire them, that you can put the pieces back together? You think you can save mankind? Give them back a world with justice and freedom and all that other Pledge of Allegiance garbage? I’m telling you to make peace with it. Surrender to it and make this your home, just the way it is. Because S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to save the world. And you want to see the consequences? Take a look.”
Deke pointed the remote at the wall. The bar disappeared, the pixels becoming a view of a fractured planet. A fractured Earth. Kris and Daisy stared in horror. Jemma was right, there was almost nothing left.
“You see an Earth that can be saved?” Deke asked them. “It’s too late. It’s already been quaked apart.”
Taglist: @ocappreciationtag // @arrthurpendragon // @mischiefmanaged71
(If you want to be added to or removed from my taglist, feel free to send me a message)
#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) Masterlist
OC Info // Playlist // Cover
Summary: Kris Fletcher's life changed overnight when she became an Inhuman. After joining S.H.I.E.L.D., struggling to control her powers, fighting LMDs, and escaping the Framework, all she wants is to take a break.
But then the team are kidnapped and sent to the future. Now, they must fight the Kree, get home to their own time, and stop the apocalypse. You know, totally normal S.H.I.E.L.D stuff.
And, to make matters worse, she meets Deke Shaw – the most infuriating person she has ever met. Likewise, he claims that she is a giant pain in his ass. From the moment they meet, all they do is bicker. But, as they start spending time together, they discover that they have more in common than they first thought.
And neither of them are too happy about it. But hey, it's the end of the world, so who the hell cares?
Warnings: Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Trauma, Touch-Starved, Descriptions of Pain/Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Descriptions of Death
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 » Chapter 2 » Chapter 3 » Chapter 4 » Chapter 5 » Chapter 6 » Chapter 7 » Chapter 8 » Chapter 9
#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Touch Me (TIFM) Memes: Fletchaw Edition Part 1
#oc memes#my ocs#ocappreciation#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)#deke shaw x oc#im obsessed with their dynamic#it's so fun to write
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) ~ Chapter 3
Word Count: 6.9k
Masterlist // AO3
“We need to get out of here,” Daisy whispered to Kris, glancing over her shoulder at Deke.
“Agreed.”
The image of the bar had been restored, the destroyed Earth no longer visible. Kris approached Deke who had sat back down at the bar.
“How do we get out of here?” she asked simply.
“You wait ‘til the session’s over,” he stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“What do you mean?”
Deke sighed and put down his pint. “I mean, the transmitter is on a timer. It will turn off when the session ends and we’ll wake up.”
“Okay, so when does it end?” Kris crossed her arms.
“Well, I set it for about half an hour.”
“Half an hour?” Kris shot a worried glance at Daisy. “How long is that in Framework time?”
“What?” He frowned at her.
“In our experience, the Framework makes you perceive time differently. A week in the real world can feel like months, or even years, in here.”
“That’s insane. No, your perception of time stays exactly the same. Thirty minutes still feels like thirty minutes.” He paused. “Why would anyone spend a week in the Framework?”
“We didn’t have a choice,” Kris muttered. She chewed her lip nervously, trying to work up the courage to voice what was on her mind. “You haven’t seen a woman around here by any chance? Dark hair, goes by Ophelia or Aida or … or Madame Hydra?”
“No. Should I?” Deke replied casually, turning back to his beer.
“She used to run this place. I thought … I thought she might still be here.”
“Is that even possible?” Daisy asked.
“I don’t know. I hope not,” Kris continued. “I just … have you seen ‘Silence in the Library’? It’s a Doctor Who episode.” Daisy shook her head. “Well, in that, they’re able to save people’s consciousness into a computer network and I worry that Aida might have done something similar. Embedded herself into the code or whatever.”
“Well, that’s horrifying. I’ll go have a look around, just in case.” Daisy brushed Kris’ arm reassuringly. Kris flinched away, surprised by the contact. God, she hated that she did that. Luckily, Daisy wasn’t offended. She gave Kris a small smile and then left the bar.
Kris took a deep breath, trying to centre herself. Being back in the Framework was throwing her off. She tried to focus, deciding to do what she did best.
She leaned over and grabbed a napkin and a pen from behind the bar. Deke looked at her curiously.
“What year is this?” Kris asked. “I know we’re in the future, but how far in the future?”
“2091,” Deke answered.
“Okay.” She wrote that down. “And when did …” she gestured aimlessly behind her where the image of Earth used to be. “... when did that happen?”
“The end of the world? Early 2018, from what I can gather.”
“Oh, that’s a relief,” Kris sighed. She saw Deke’s confused look and explained. “We were kidnapped in early 2017. So, assuming we find a way back to the past, and assuming we arrive back at the same moment we were taken, we should have a year to figure out how to save the world.”
She wrote that on the napkin. Her hand was still shaking slightly and the crescent groves on her palm left by her nails were still visible. She hoped Deke wouldn’t notice. But he did.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She cursed silently. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she brushed him off through slightly gritted teeth and tried to change the subject. “So, do you have any footage from the day the world was split apart? Or anything leading up to it?” She gestured at the TV which was still paused on Daisy’s face.
Deke didn’t answer, his eyes scanning her face. She furrowed her brow, trying to work out why he was hesitating.
“So?” she pressed.
“I do,” he admitted reluctantly. “But you won’t like it.”
“I think I can handle it. I’m a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent – we tend to see some pretty unbelievable things.”
Although it was true (Kris really had seen a lot of crazy stuff since joining S.H.I.EL.D.), she was still getting used to it all. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to see the world falling apart, but she had to find some answers. She had to find out how this had happened.
Kris steeled herself for whatever Deke was about to show her. He unwillingly raised the remote. The screen changed to a different news network. The news reporter seemed to be standing in a wrecked city. Rubble littered the streets behind him and Kris could just about make out some first responders helping civilians in the background.
“This is the last news broadcast before the Earth cracked,” Deke informed her. Then he pressed play.
“I’m here in Chicago where a fight between two superpowered people is taking place,” the reporter announced. “One participant is rumoured to be S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Daisy Johnson, also known as Quake. The other person is yet to be identified.”
The headlines ran across the bottom of the screen: ‘Quake fights in Chicago’, ‘Could the unidentified opponent be another Inhuman?’ The reporter put his finger to his ear, waiting, listening as someone spoke to him. He nodded, before looking up at the camera.
“This just in: Kris Fletcher, another Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. known by the alias Nomad, has been found dead near the scene of the fight.”
Kris’ stomach dropped like a stone. Nausea washed over her as she stared at the TV, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, frozen in horror. Or perhaps it was terror.
“Sources say Agent Fletcher sustained severe internal injuries,” the reporter continued. “Appearing to be crushed to death –”
There was a loud rumble cutting off the reporter. A dark crack opened up in the road, widening with every passing second. The broadcast cut out.
“No.” It was so quiet, she almost didn’t hear herself speak. “No … that can’t …” She shook her head slightly.
“I told you,” Deke said, resigned, “you can’t save the world.”
Suddenly, the door slammed. The loud noise brought Kris back to her senses. She turned, realising Daisy must have come back in at some point. She awkwardly hopped off the bar stool, her legs feeling like jelly, and ran after Daisy.
“Daisy! Daisy, wait!”
Her mind was racing. This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be …
Then it hit her. Of course, this wasn’t real. This was the Framework.
“Daisy.” Kris caught up with her. “This is the Framework. It’s a completely different reality, remember? It isn’t anything like real life. That report must be fake. It has to be. I mean, this was Aida’s plan all along, right? She wanted us out of the picture and so she blamed us for everything that went wrong. She used the news to turn the public against us. It –” Kris knew she was rambling but she couldn’t stop herself until Daisy cut her off.
“You’re not being blamed for anything.” Daisy snapped, whipping around to face her, eyes watery. “I am. This is all my fault. I destroyed the world, I … I killed you.”
“No, we don’t know that for certain. There was someone else –”
“Someone else with powers like mine? Someone else who can do what I do? Let’s face it, this is me.”
“No,” Kris stated firmly. “I don’t believe it. Not for a second. This is the Framework, we can’t trust anything in here –”
“Actually,” Deke, who had followed them outside, butted in, “those reports weren’t from the Framework. I found them in what was left of the Lighthouse archives. I just moved them in here so the Kree wouldn’t find them.”
“Okay, you’re not helping,” Kris lashed out at him. “And, I don’t trust a word you say. You’re a lying bastard and a duplicitous low-life!”
“Seems a little harsh,” he retorted.
“Is it? You’re duplicitous because you lied and a low-life because you’re selling the Framework. I think it seems pretty apt,” she snarled. “You’re also the most infuriating person I've ever met.”
“I’m the most infuriating … Well, you know what, you’re a giant pain in my ass!” He jabbed a finger at her. “Not to mention a massive target on my back. The sooner you’re all out of here, the better.”
Kris’ vision blurred, and she felt lightheaded. She seemed to fall in slow motion before waking up on the floor of Deke’s speakeasy.
She gasped for air as she adjusted to the real world again. Deke’s voice cut through the haziness of her mind.
“Let’s get you two back your friends.”
~~~
The long walk back to the Exchange was uncomfortably silent as what Deke had revealed to them sank in. When they got there, they split up, looking for the others.
Deke stood outside, scanning the room and the corridor. Kris approached him, shaking her head. They waited for Daisy to come back, the chatter from the people around them being the only thing to break the silence.
“Are you –” Deke started quietly. But he was cut off by Daisy.
“Where are they?” she asked as she rushed into the corridor. “We were supposed to meet up at the Exchange. Something’s wrong.”
“Or maybe they finally took my advice to evaporate into this place,” Deke replied, pushing himself off the wall to follow her.
“They were looking for a way to find Simmons,” Daisy told him. “I gotta track them down.”
“So you said.” Deke grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop and look at him. Kris watched his movements, on guard in case he tried to hurt Daisy. “Don’t you think you’re kind of deflecting from what I told you about …” He mimicked an explosion sound, making an expanding gesture with his hands.
“I’m not deflecting ‘cause I didn’t do it,” Daisy stated before walking off.
Deke continued to trail behind her. “Yeah, that’s what deflecting is.”
“How could I split the world apart?” Daisy sighed. “Kris is right, my powers aren’t that strong. I’m not that strong.”
“Maybe not yet,” Deke countered. “But you will be.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Because planet Earth went from smooth to chunky, and Quake is the one who did it.” Daisy still looked unconvinced so he continued. “Kris said you have, like, a year before the world ends. A lot can happen in a year.”
“And you don’t think I’d remember that? Tearing the world apart?”
Kris, still feeling a little lightheaded, was finding it hard to keep up with their quick pace.
“Well, not if it hasn’t happened yet,” Deke said.
“Exactly, it happened after we were abducted. So it can’t be Daisy,” Kris interjected.
“Well, it can if you get sent back,” Deke retorted. “Besides there’s the multiverse theory to consider too.”
Kris and Daisy stopped walking, shooting him confused glances.
“You probably never heard of it, but in quantum physics, there’s a theory that, for every universe, there are infinite parallel universes,” he explained condescendingly. Daisy pursed her lips, annoyed. “So, in my universe, you destroyed the planet. Maybe that just hasn’t happened in –”
He was cut off by Daisy slapping him.
“So, what universe did that just happen in?” Daisy asked smugly. “Mine or yours?”
Kris chuckled and Deke shot her a weary look. She shrugged.
“I did warn you to drop the condescending tone,” she reminded him. He smiled sarcastically at her. Then his eyes wandered past her and the smile dropped off his face.
“Oh no.” He pushed past them to go talk to a guy wiping blood off a pair of boots. He came back to them looking worried.
“Talk to me,” Daisy demanded.
“There’s been a Renewal,” he relayed grimly.
“A what?” Kris and Daisy asked at the same time.
“Three people are dead.” Daisy and Kris exchanged a concerned glance. “Just hold your freak out. It wasn’t your friends, okay? They’re probably hiding, which is what I advised them to do from the get-go.”
“Of course you’re the kind of guy who loves to say ‘I told you so’.” Kris rolled her eyes. Deke was about to say something back but Daisy stopped him.
“Okay, okay. So where would they be hiding?” she asked urgently.
“I don’t know. They’re your friends.” Deke shrugged.
“And this is your home. Where you know everyone and everything that’s in here.”
Deke sighed and looked around, checking no one was listening. Still, he lowered his voice. “One of the vacancies came from Grill’s Salvage. That means there’s an opening. He might take in strays. I’d start there.”
“You got all that from the shoe guy?” Daisy asked, astonished.
“Well, the shoe guy knows all,” Deke replied dryly.
“Guess I should have asked him in the first place.” Daisy turned to walk away.
“Hey, wait,” Kris called after Daisy. “I still have questions. The only person who seemed to have answers was Virgil. I want to see where he lived.” She turned to Deke.
“And you expect me to take you there?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yep.”
“Hey, what about not splitting up?” Daisy reminded her.
“I know. But it’s important.” Kris paused. “Just find the others. Stay with them. I’ll find you soon.”
Daisy nodded. “Be careful.”
“You too.”
Daisy headed away down the corridor, walking fast.
“Yeah, don’t do anything dumb, please,” Deke muttered under his breath.
~~~
Kris and Deke made their way through the identical corridors to Virgil’s place in silence. That news report kept playing over and over in Kris’ head, but not because it reported her death. There was something off about it, something that was bugging her.
Then it hit her – they were able to identify her, and they knew that she was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Despite Mace’s best efforts, Kris had refused to be in the public eye, preferring to remain an anonymous agent. Not only that, but the reporter had used her alias Nomad. That name had been given to her in the Framework, and she had never used it in the real world. Her suspicion that the report was fake or a product of the Framework grew, but she decided not to let Deke know just yet. He would just deny it anyway.
Instead, she wanted more answers about this place.
“So, what’s a Renewal, exactly?” Kris asked, hoping for more context.
“Well, the Kree scan our Metrics then a number of low-earners are randomly selected. They owe a life, meaning they have to kill someone else to earn their place here or die to create a vacancy for someone else.”
Kris faltered, shocked. “You’re not serious?” He just looked at her. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Jesus. Everything really has gone to shit.”
“Yeah, that’s what happens when the world ends.” Deke carried on walking. “Speaking of, how are you doing? That news can’t be easy to swallow.” His voice was a little softer now, almost like he actually cared about how she felt. Kris hated it.
“You said it yourself, everyone’s got their own stories,” she replied coldly. “That’s just yours. Who knows which one is true?”
“That’s not just a story – it’s actual archive footage.” He could see Kris was ignoring his attempts to justify what he showed her. “Okay, fine, you wanna know what the other stories say? ‘Cause they all say the same thing about you. You died minutes before the Earth cracked. You died fighting the Destroyer of Worlds. That’s the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it.”
“What the hell is the Destroyer of Worlds?” Kris asked, frowning.
“Another name for Quake,” Deke stated matter-of-factly.
Kris chuckled cynically. “Yeah, right.” She shook her head. “Still don’t believe you.”
Deke groaned in frustration. He was about to argue with her further but suddenly stopped. He grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop too. Kris jerked her arm from his grasp. He stared at her for a moment before pointing to the door next to them.
“Virgil’s bunk.”
“Right, well just say that next time,” Kris mumbled, eyes darting up and down him.
Deke sighed and opened the door. Inside was, well, it was a mess. Things Kris would consider junk filled the room, but they were clearly loved. A torn umbrella was balanced precariously in the corner, battered old signs adorned the walls, broken toy planes hung above the bed, and old Christmas decorations sat pride of place on the table. Kris was even surprised to see a few plants on a shelf along the back wall. All of Virgil’s stuff was displayed with such care, almost as though each item was worshipped. When she thought about it, these things were probably his most prized possessions – the last remnants of a home Virgil never knew.
She started sorting through his things, handling stuff with care and making sure to put everything back in its place. Deke stood by the door, watching her.
“Did you know Virgil well?” she inquired.
“I suppose.” He shrugged. She shot him a questioning glance over her shoulder. He sighed and continued. “I mean, we were born around the same time so I’ve known him since childhood. But he’s been distant the last few years. Ever since …” he cleared his throat. “Anyway, he preferred spending time in the Trawler. Guess he hated being cooped up in here for too long. Wanted freedom, y’know?”
“So, he didn’t give any other reason for being out all the time?”
“Other than work, no.”
“Work?”
“Collecting the rocks that are floating around out there. Dump them in the Salvage Yard, where they look for minerals or metals or whatever.”
“And Virgil didn’t work in Salvage? Just collecting?”
“Yep.”
Kris hummed, deep in thought. She had lots of information but not much to piece things together with.
“What, you think he was out there for a different reason?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was searching the surface for something?”
“The surface? No way. It’s completely uninhabitable. Nothing can live there. Except Roaches,” he added in a disgusted tone.
Kris picked up a toy truck, turning it over in her hands. “Y’know, in my time, these are just children’s toys. Mass-produced, nothing special. Definitely not valuable. And yet, here it is, perfectly preserved, put on a shelf like it’s fine china,” she mused quietly. “I suppose you’ve never seen a real one.” She turned back to Deke.
He shook his head. “Can’t say I have. I guess they’re a lot bigger in real life.”
“Yes, they are.” Kris chuckled. “And they’re not made of plastic. Or painted bright yellow.”
Her eyes burned as the reality really started to hit her. Everything she knew was gone. Really, truly gone. All the mundane things, all the things she took for granted, these people had never seen or heard or experienced any of it. She had always hoped, after joining S.H.I.E.L.D., that she would make the world a better place. Not just for her but for future generations. And yet, she had failed. S.H.I.E.L.D. had failed.
She wiped away the rogue tear that slipped down her cheek. She put the truck back on the shelf.
“All this over a stupid truck,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head.
“You sure it’s the truck?” Deke asked softly. “The news report –”
“Can you just drop it?” Kris asked sharply.
“What? If you really think you can stop the end of the world, you need to be prepared. You need to confront the reality of what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again when you get sent back. If you get sent back.”
Kris hated to admit it, but he made a good point. She was trying to understand what happened by building a timeline but she refused to acknowledge that this could be a part of that timeline. That her death could occur right before the world ends.
She looked down, playing with her hands. “Fine, maybe it does happen. Maybe I do die. But I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I have to wait for further confirmation, for more sources. I’m not going to take the word of one news report.”
“Why not?”
“Hate to break it to you, but the news isn’t always the most reliable source of information.”
“No, you just don’t want to face the truth,” Deke countered.
“Who does? How many people do you know would willing to accept the fact they’re going to die?” She crossed her arms over her torso, trying to hide how vulnerable she was feeling. “Even if it is true, it just sucks that the last year of my life has been so …” she trailed off, her voice quiet. She couldn’t find the words the describe the trauma she had been through of late.
“What do you mean? What happened?” Deke asked gently. She looked up at him and, for a moment, she considered telling him everything. She had been so afraid to open up to the team recently. They were her friends and she didn’t want to burden them with her problems, especially when they were dealing with their own. But Deke wasn’t her friend, she didn’t really care about being a burden on him. He was a stranger.
Which was exactly why she couldn't tell him anything. She didn’t know him. He hadn’t been through what she had been through. He wouldn’t understand, not the way the team would. She closed herself off, pushing away all thoughts of the last year or so, and arranging her face back into a neutral expression. This wasn’t the right time, place, or person to be talking to about this.
“Nothing,” she said shortly.
“And here I thought we were finally getting somewhere.” Deke sighed.
“Huh, you wish.”
“Come on, that’s not fair. I’ve been answering all your questions but I’m not allowed to ask about you?”
“I’m not asking about you personally,” she countered. “I’m asking about the future in general. If you have any questions about the past, I’ll be happy to answer them. But personal stuff is absolutely off the table.”
“Fine, you want to talk about the past, I have questions about the past. Why does everyone think Daisy Johnson is a hero when she’s clearly dangerous? Why did S.H.I.E.L.D. destroy the Framework? Why were you two so desperate to get out of there? …”
Deke kept talking but Kris didn’t hear him. Just the mention of the Framework sent her spiralling again. It was such a small thing, but on top of everything else that happened in the last few hours … well, it was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Her heart was beating rapidly, drumming in her ears. Tears pricked her eyes and her breathing quickened. Her hands shook, more violently than ever before and she knew immediately this was going to be a big one. Her legs, which had been rooted to the spot, abruptly started moving. Her mind went completely blank as the panicked fight or flight reactions kicked in.
She pushed past Deke, wrenching the door open. She had to get out there. There was no window in that room, no air, no space to breathe. She frantically searched the hallways and took off running down the one that seemed the most deserted. Deke called after her but she didn’t turn around. She just kept running, trying to put as much distance between herself and Deke’s incessant questions as she could.
~~~
Kris was strapped to the cold metal table, the rough restraints biting into her wrists and ankles. Her eyes darted wildly around the room, watching the team of Hydra scientists prepare their equipment. She wanted to cry out, beg them to stop, but she couldn’t, the gag in her mouth keeping her quiet.
Her breathing became heavier as a familiar face stepped into view. Madame Hydra.
“How is the work coming along, Leopold?” she asked, looking up at the Doctor.
“Hmm, it’s tricky. But very interesting,” he replied, his voice devoid of all emotion. “Taking samples without touching her was difficult at first, but I think we’ve got the hang of it now.” He smiled down at her coldly. “And I do like a challenge.”
“Any progress on changing the nature of her abilities?”
“Some, but it’s going to take a while.”
“Well, we best hurry. Project Looking Glass is nearing its completion. I want this done before then.”
“Of course, Ophelia.”
Madame Hydra placed a kiss on the Doctor’s cheek before leaving. Kris glared at him. He caught her and narrowed his eyes. He leaned in close.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
Kris thrashed about, trying to free herself. But the restraints were too tight. Her muffled screams filled the room as the Doctor advanced toward her, scalpel in hand.
Kris tried to banish the image from her mind. She shut her eyes tight, screwing up her face and burying her head in her shaky hands.
She had found a secluded spot away from the bustle of the Exchange. She didn’t really know where she was but she knew she was still on Level Ten. She was sitting in a small cavity in the wall, legs folded up to her chest. She didn’t know when Deke had stopped following her, but she was glad she had managed to lose him; she didn’t want anyone to see her like this, especially not him. She didn’t trust that he wouldn’t use it against her.
It was a nasty thought, and she knew it. To think so little of someone, to believe they would use your most vulnerable moment against you. But she knew there were people out there who would. She knew because Aida had done it.
Aida had targeted what made them vulnerable and used it to her advantage. Kris wouldn’t let her guard down like that again. The whole team were still recovering and –
Of course, the team. She needed to get back to the team. Back to the mission.
She attempted to control her breathing, to slow her heart rate. Her fingers dug into her skull as nothing changed. She tried to think good thoughts, to think about happier times.
But nothing came to mind, her memory wiped by the blind panic. Only one thought filled her head: the team; she needed to get back to the team.
“Hey, how ya doing?” Mack asked gently, closing the door behind him. Kris was back in isolation, at her own request. She hated the plain white walls, and floor, and ceiling, and bed, and everything. Every damn thing in the room was white. It drove her crazy.
But it was for the best. Everyone was safer with her out of the way.
“How am I doing?” Kris repeated quietly. “How are you? You’re the one who got hurt.”
“Ah, I'm fine. Tougher than I look y’know.” Mack chuckled, trying to make light of the situation. But Kris didn’t feel like playing along.
“I’m sorry. I really am. And I know that doesn’t mean anything unless –”
“Stop right there,” Mack interrupted. “You don’t have to apologise. We bumped into each other in the hallway. It happens. I’m not mad about it or anything. It’s not like you deliberately tried to hurt me. It was just a normal accident.”
“But it wasn’t, was it? A normal accident would result in a stubbed toe or a little bruise. You were in agony. Just from a momentary touch, the briefest amount of contact. With my powers, nothing is normal.” Kris sighed. “And I’m trying to control them but they’re not getting any better. In fact, they’re getting worse.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. The pain used to stop when contact was broken but you continued to be in pain even after I stopped touching you. How is that not worse?” Tears fell down her cheeks as she ran her hand through her hair. “I don’t understand why this is happening.”
“Yeah, I guess my ‘everything happens for a reason, God has a plan’ speech isn’t going to help here.” Mack sat on the edge of the bed. Kris shrank away, shuffling further toward the headboard to keep some distance between them. “But I know things will work out in the end. You’re working hard with Fitzsimmons, so I know you’ll find a way to control this one day.”
That was true. Fitz and Jemma had dedicated their time to studying her powers and trying to help her. So far, the way her powers worked was anytime she touched someone, even through clothes, she would cause them pain. But Jemma was confident she would be able to control when she wanted to use her powers and be able to touch people without hurting them. Kris had believed her, in the beginning, but now it seemed less and less likely.
Fitz had also been helping, in his own way. He wasn’t a biologist, but he was an engineer. He had been designing clothing for her that would block her powers. So far, they had been unsuccessful but he was determined to crack the problem.
But Kris knew they couldn’t keep doing this forever. They were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the brightest minds in the organisation. They couldn't keep spending every day trying to help one person when so many others needed them.
“Maybe it would be better for me to leave. Try to control this on my own,” Kris suggested. “That way, no else gets hurt in the process. I’m causing too much trouble by staying here.”
“Sounds lonely,” Mack pointed out. “Besides, we’re S.H.I.E.L.D., we specialise in trouble.” He smiled at her kindly.
Kris offered a small smile back, feeling her spirits lift slightly.
Kris’ breathing had evened out now. Her heart rate was back to normal and her hands had stopped shaking. She wiped her tears off her cheeks, drying her eyes. Then, she slowly stretched out her legs, wincing at the stiffness after being curled up tight for so long.
How long had it been? She had completely lost track of time. And, of course, she wasn’t wearing a watch. She mentally cursed herself. But would it even work here? That would be a question for Fitz when she saw him again.
Her mind was clearer now, the panic subsiding. She took a few deep, calming breaths before standing up.
As she rounded a corner, she almost collided with a young man. She side-stepped him quickly, her reflexes still on high alert.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t see you there,” the boy said.
“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Kris smiled.
The boy smiled back and continued walking. Kris turned, calling out after him.
“Actually, could you help me? I’ve gotten a little turned around. Which way is the Exchange?”
“Uh, that way.” The boy pointed in the direction he had come from, giving her a confused look.
“Right. Of course. Thank you … uh …”
“Flint,” he supplied.
“Thank you, Flint.”
As she was about to walk away, he spoke again.
“Wait a minute, are you the girl Deke’s looking for?”
Kris resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was going around asking people to look out for her – so much for keeping a low profile. “Yeah probably. What does he want?” Her tone was more bitter than she expected.
“I dunno.” Flint shrugged. “Said you just ran off for no reason. I think he’s worried about you.” He smirked knowingly.
“Worried about himself, more like. I threatened to rat him out to the Kree for … well, it doesn’t matter what for. He’s just worried I’m actually going to do it.”
“Y’know, I don’t remember him mentioning you before.” Flint frowned.
“Should he have?” she asked, curiously.
“Hmm, well it’s just that Deke loves to complain about people. Especially about Virgil’s crazy stories or Tess yelling at him again. But he’s never complained about you. He must like you.” The boy smirked again, teasingly.
“Oh, believe me, he does not. He complains about me all the time. He just does it directly to my face.” Kris chuckled. “And besides, we just met. He hasn’t had time to complain to anyone else yet. Are you close with him?”
Deke was a complete mystery to her and she didn’t like it. But here was someone he knew, maybe even trusted. Perhaps she could get some answers about him out of Flint.
Flint shrugged. “I suppose. He lets me crash in his bunk sometimes and he tips me off about work vacancies. He’s even let me into his gallery for free a couple of times.”
Well, maybe there was more to Deke than she thought. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad person after all.
No, that was going too far. He still recreated the Framework and used it for profit, so definitely still a bad person. And of course, he was still annoying as hell.
“So, do you not have a bunk of your own? There seems to be plenty of rooms in this place.”
“Nah. With the upper floors closed off because of the Roaches, and Kasius using the lower levels, there’s not as much free space as people think. And with my parents gone, I can’t afford to pay for my own room anyway.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kris said sympathetically.
“Eh, it’s whatever. I get by.” Flint seemed unconcerned. “Although Tess did just kick me out of the Trawler. Better go find somewhere else to crash tonight.”
“Tess? Was she with anyone else?”
“Uh, yeah. Some other folks I haven't seen before. Must be new transfers.”
That must be the others. If she remembered correctly, the Trawler was on Level Nine, the level above her.
She thanked Flint again and made her way to the nearest lift.
~~~
After checking the Trawler and finding it empty, Kris made her way back to Level Ten, to Grill’s Salvage. As she approached, she heard someone yelling inside. It sounded like a man, an older, gruff voice. Not Coulson or Mack.
She hung about in the corridor, hoping to look casual and not draw any attention. The door opened and out came Coulson, May, Mack, and Yo-Yo. Tess followed them, looking disturbed.
“Hey.” Kris jogged over to them.
“Thank god you’re alright.” May sighed.
“Where ya been, Trouble?” Mack asked.
“Daisy said you went to Virgil’s with Deke,” Yo-Yo added. “But you’ve been gone a while. We were getting worried.”
“I’m fine,” Kris insisted. “Just been doing some investigating.”
The group started walking away from the Salvage Yard as the man started yelling again. He sounded really angry.
“So, what did you find?” Coulson asked.
“Deke is protecting himself. Got a little business he runs on the side.” Kris shivered slightly. “You’re not gonna like what it is.”
“What, his gallery?” Tess interjected. “Yeah, it's kind of an open secret.”
“So I’ve heard. But they’re not just any old escapist simulations. He’s rebuilt the Framework.” The others sighed and groaned at the revelation. “Yeah, but we don’t need to worry. It’s nowhere near as advanced as Aida’s version. Still, he is selling it for profit so …”
“God, I hate him even more now,” Mack grumbled.
“Well, at least you weren’t stuck in there for half an hour,” Kris replied. “Anyway, it has been somewhat helpful. Deke saved some old archive stuff about how the world ended. That, along with the stories, should give us some idea of what happened. It’s definitely not a solid ‘this is exactly what happened’ kind of situation though – stories passed down orally aren’t the most reliable, and archive footage or not, it could have been corrupted by the remaining Framework code. Changed to fit the narrative of the very different world Aida created. So take it with a pinch of salt, I guess.”
“Ah, a historian’s worst nightmare,” Coulson joked, “finding credible sources.”
Kris chuckled. She decided it was best not to tell them about her supposed death or Daisy allegedly destroying the world. She needed to verify those sources first, and check where this information came from. They were dealing with a seventy-odd-year old game of telephone – the information may have been exaggerated or relayed wrong. Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe Deke’s information was one hundred percent correct. But Kris wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. And she wasn’t going to concern the team with rumours and hearsay.
“Anyway, what about you?” Kris asked. “Find anything useful?”
“We just got back from a Trawler run,” Coulson informed her. “Managed to find out what Virgil was doing out there. He was communicating with someone on the planet’s surface. We recorded the transmission but we can’t make it out.”
“It’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow,” Tess interrupted. “We won’t be allowed to take the Trawler out again so late. Come on, I’ll see if I can find some empty bunks for you to crash in tonight. And some spare clothes so you can blend in.”
After a while, Tess came back empty-handed in terms of bunks. She was very apologetic, offering up her bunk instead. The team decided to sleep in shifts. Everyone insisted that May, being the injured one of the group, sleep first. She wasn’t happy about being treated ‘like a child’ but she couldn’t deny she was exhausted.
Kris couldn’t help but think of Flint, who was probably sleeping on the floor somewhere. The bunks weren’t all that comfortable, but they were better than nothing. She suggested to Tess that he use Virgil’s room for now, seeing as it was empty. She thought it was a good idea and went to find him.
~~~
Kris woke with a start, panting. Her hair was damp with sweat as she ran her fingers through it. She had had a nightmare about her time in the Framework. She breathed deeply, slowing her heart rate down.
She had been putting off her sleep shift. After May, Kris had insisted Mack and Yo-Yo get some rest before her. Her reasoning was that they had been working in Salvage for the last few hours – the labour-intensive job must have tired them out. But really, she was just afraid of what memories would be dredged up while she slept. It didn’t help that she was in an unfamiliar place, an unfamiliar bed.
May entered the room. “Oh good, you’re already awake.” She threw some tattered-looking clothes at her. “Your shift’s up.”
“Right, okay. How’s the leg?” Kris asked groggily as she got out of bed. “And the wrist?”
“Better after some sleep,” May replied but Kris could tell she was lying. She decided it was best not to mention it.
May left the room and Kris got dressed. The clothes weren’t too dissimilar to what she was currently wearing, they were just older and more scruffy-looking. Tess had found her a long-sleeved black shirt (which was useful as it covered her lack of a Metric), some grey biker jeans which were faded and ripped, and a pair of grubby combat boots with a thick strap at the top covering the laces. There was also a threadbare black hoodie, a shabby brown leather jacket, and a pair of black fingerless gloves in the pile of clothes.
Kris spotted a comb that was missing some of its teeth sitting by the bed and picked it up. She dragged it through her blonde hair before tying it up, ready to get back to work.
Obviously, it was Coulson’s turn to sleep next as he was waiting outside.
“Sleep well, sir.” Kris smiled.
She joined the others in the Trawler, where they were gathered around the hidden radio, trying to fix the wiring.
“Daisy?” Kris wondered, noticing she was missing.
“We don’t know,” Mack replied. “No one’s seen her since yesterday.”
“That’s not good.”
“She’s probably with Simmons,” Yo-Yo reassured them. “They’ll be fine.”
It was unlikely, but it was a lie they were willing to live with for now.
After only a few hours, Coulson rejoined them.
“Who needs some sleep?” he asked. “I’ll get the next shift.”
“Nice try,” Yo-Yo scoffed. “You slept less than all of us.”
“Yeah, we gotta back to Salvage anyway,” Mack added. “So let’s hope this does the trick.”
“It’s gotta be remnants.” Tess chewed her nails nervously, pacing the small space. “Old transmissions in a gravitational feedback loop.”
“I’m telling you, it’s from the surface,” May insisted.
“That’s impossible. Nothing can survive on the surface.”
Static crackled then a man’s voice came through, loud and clear.
“Virgil, come in. Do you read? We haven’t heard from you in three days. Please respond, Virgil. Have you secured the delegation?”
“He’s talking about us,” Coulson realised. “We’re the delegation. Whoever that is knows we’re here, knows why we’re here.”
“So there’s someone out there,” Yo-Yo whispered. Kris felt a small spark of hope burn inside her. Perhaps there was a chance to fix this after all.
“We need to find them,” Coulson continued. “We need to find a way to get up there.” He looked to Tess, who shook her head rapidly.
“No, you’re not listening,” she said firmly. “Nothing can survive on the surface. That’s where they send people to die.”
“I think you underestimate humanity,” Kris spoke up. “We’re experts in adapting to survive. These people,” she nodded at the radio, “they’re waiting for us. They have the answers we need. We have to find them. It’s the only way to save the world.”
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#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Kris Fletcher x Deke Shaw - Soulmate AU
Background: Kris grew up with Jemma but didn’t join S.H.I.E.L.D. until she became an Inhuman. She gained the ability to manipulate/increase someone’s pain just by touching them. But that changed in the Framework when AIDA wanted to steal her powers but still wanted to experience what it was like to touch people. AIDA found a way to change Kris’ powers using the Darkhold, then she instructed The Doctor how to experiment on Kris until her powers could be controlled by her mind alone. Once out of the Framework, these changes seemed to still be in effect, but no one knows if they’re permanent. Kris is relieved to be able to touch people again without hurting them, but she still gets anxious that her powers will revert back without her noticing. And Fitz can't get rid of the crushing guilt he feels for essentially torturing his friend.
~~~
Kris sat in the diner, lost in thought. The team, her friends, were all chatting away, enjoying these last few moments together before they would be arrested. They were all fresh out of the Framework and the fight with AIDA had taken its toll on everyone. Fitz still couldn't look Kris in the eye.
Daisy bumped Kris’ arm gently, causing her to instinctively recoil from the contact.
“You know you're able to touch people now,” Daisy joked softly.
“I know. I'm sorry. Old habits and all that.”
“Don't apologise. I was just worried about you. You're awfully quiet.”
“Thanks. I'm fine though.”
Daisy raised one eyebrow but left it alone. Kris turned back to stare at her half-eaten burger. As she reached out for it, the cuff of her sleeve moved slightly, exposing the tattooed skin on her inner wrist. Her soulmate’s first words to her, apparently. Everyone was born with it. Most people found their soulmates pretty easily but there were some out there who had very generic phrases (‘Hi, nice to meet you’, ‘Sorry, excuse me’, etc). But her’s just didn't make sense. Kris had pondered over the meaning for years but was still none the wiser. It was a pretty simple phrase, really, it was just one word that stuck out, one word she didn't know: ‘What about you? I don’t suppose you have a Metric?’
What the hell even is a Metric?
That was the first thing she was going to ask her soulmate when she met them. She had searched for years, scoured through old books, browsed the internet, even accessed a ton of S.H.I.E.L.D. files that she probably shouldn't have, just to find out what it was. But she had found nothing.
She tried not to think about it too much. But that was hard to do, considering her team was made up of lovey-dovey soulmates. Fitz and Simmons had known they were soulmates since they were seventeen, but they never did anything about it until recently (despite Kris pushing Jemma to just ask him out already). Now that they were together though, they put everyone else in the world to shame with their big romantic gestures and awe-inspiring dedication to one another. It was sweet, and Kris was happy for them, but it made her own failed relationships look even worse.
And of course, Mack and Yo-Yo were equally as affectionate. The team could always tell when they were flirting because they would not-very-subtly switch to Spanish. At least Coulson and May were more discreet when it came to public displays of affection. Besides, Kris wasn't the only one who hadn't found her soulmate. Daisy, like Kris, had been in relationships before but still hadn't heard someone say those magic words. Daisy’s phrase was one of the generic ones: ‘Who the hell are you?’ Of course, this was said to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents pretty often but Daisy’s responses never matched up with the other person’s words.
Kris was pulled from her thoughts when the lights suddenly went out. Armed men ran into the diner, lining up behind them. Kris could feel the guns trained on their backs without having to turn around. She raised her hands slowly like the others while Coulson talked to a man behind him.
The next thing she knew, she was facing a tall white stone with three red stripes carved into it. Her ears rang as she gasped for air. Were they drugged?
“Is everyone alright?” Coulson asked.
“Yeah, I think so,” Mack replied.
Kris turned to Jemma whose gaze was fixated on the stone. Before she could ask if she was alright, the stone began to melt into liquid. It splashed towards them, swallowing up the team. Panic swept over Kris as the wave of liquid stone rushed across the floor towards her. Jemma had told her about this, told her about the monolith that had abducted her to an alien planet for six months (not to mention the murderous Inhuman who lived there and later enslaved Daisy). The white wave gripped her feet and pulled her under.
~~~
She woke up on a cold hard floor. She turned her head, cautiously testing out movement in her limbs. She came face to face with what appeared to be a very dehydrated dead body. Kris jumped back, rolling away before standing up. Her eyes widened as she took in the pile of bodies against the wall. Her head swam after standing up so quickly so she placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths, running her free hand over her face. They had just escaped the Framework and now they were probably in space, surrounded by dead bodies.
Great, just what we need. More sci-fi-esque horror movie nonsense.
Something clattered across the room. Kris stood up straighter and headed carefully towards the noise. She paused next to some boxes, listening to the sound of someone or something rummaging around. Sitting on top of a nearby box was a thick metal crowbar. She slowly picked it up, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She took another deep breath, steadying herself, before turning the corner with her crowbar raised.
The person, crouched on the ground, whipped around to face her. Kris sighed in relief and lowered the crowbar.
“Jemma. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Yeah, well you scared me too,” the other woman countered. “Here put this on. Quickly. We don’t know if this air is breathable.”
She held out a gas mask and Kris raised her eyebrow.
“It seems fine to me.”
“Well, just in case.” Jemma wiggled the mask in front of her face.
Kris thought about it for a moment then took it. After all, Jemma usually knew best. As they adjusted the masks, they heard another noise from where Kris had been earlier. Kris picked up her makeshift weapon again and they headed back across the room.
Luckily it was only Yo-Yo, who seemed to have just appeared. Jemma reached out for her, but Yo-Yo turned, grabbing Jemma’s arm.
“Wait! Yo-Yo–” Jemma was cut off by Yo-Yo kicking her in the stomach. She fell backwards as Yo-Yo searched the room for a weapon.
“Yo-Yo, stop it’s us.” Kris held up her hands. But Yo-Yo didn’t seem to hear her as she grabbed something off a counter and lunged at Jemma again.
“No, no. Yo-Yo, wait! It’s me,” Jemma tried again breathlessly.
Yo-Yo paused. “Simmons?”
“What on earth? I'm lucky there were no knives.” Jemma took off her mask and Kris followed her lead.
“Kris,” Yo-Yo sighed, relieved to see another friendly face.
“Hey.” Kris nodded. Yo-Yo turned back to Jemma.
“What the hell were you doing with those masks? Trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Well, I wasn't sure the air was safe in here.” Jemma gestured to the pile of bodies behind them. “They were trying to get out. I thought maybe it was for air when I saw these masks on the ground, but I guess not.”
“And you?” Yo-Yo asked Kris.
“I don’t know.” Kris shrugged. “Jemma is the scientist, I just do what she says. If she says the air is potentially not safe, then, yeah, I'll put on a creepy gas mask. It's better than dying.”
Jemma walked back over the bodies and pulled one out towards her by the ankles.
“Ugh, Jemma, no. Please don’t.” Kris turned away, disgusted.
“Do you really–” Yo-Yo started. “Is that the smartest thing?”
“They're already dead, there's nothing to be scared of,” Jemma stated matter-of-factly.
“No. Of course not.” Yo-Yo walked over for a closer inspection. Kris shook her head.
“Yeah, no. I’m staying over here thanks.”
“Oh don't be silly. It's only a dead body, Kris,” Jemma sighed as she lifted the person’s shirt up.
“‘It's only a dead body, Kris,’” Kris mocked her friend. “Yeah, well, I appeared right next to it. I think I've inspected it closely enough.”
Jemma rolled her eyes and continued working.
“Wow, that looks like Momia Junita from the Incan–”
“The Incan mummies, yeah,” Jemma finished Yo-Yo’s sentence. “These people have been dead for a long while, but their bodies seem absent of all interstitial fluid. It's completely dehydrated them, preserving them.”
“Oh, great,” Kris mumbled under her breath, sarcastically.
“Dehydrated how? Frozen?” Yo-Yo asked, ignoring her.
“No.” Jemma looked from the body. “Drained.”
“Oh. ‘They're already dead. There's nothing to be scared of’. Really?” Yo-Yo asked. “What sucks a human dry?”
“Aliens.” Mack’s voice replied from behind them. They turned to see him and Coulson dragging a man’s body into the room, where they dropped it on the floor with a heavy thump.
“Mack.” Yo-Yo smiled and ran towards him. Mack closed the metal door behind them and pulled Yo-Yo into a hug. “Gracias adios.”
“I'm happy to see you, too. But I’m not happy you're here.”
“Aliens?” Jemma and Kris asked simultaneously.
“Yep. Coulson’s 99 percent sure we’re in space.”
Jemma sighed and closed her eyes. “Not again.”
“Hey, quick question. Is he, like, alive?” Kris asked, pointing to the man on the floor. It seemed that Coulson was checking his wrist for a pulse.
“Hopefully.” Coulson looked up.
“Alright.” Jemma continued. “Any idea which part of space we’re in?”
“Uh, outer?” Coulson shrugged, getting up.
“Sir, we have no idea what kind of creature these people were trying to get away from,” Jemma informed him.
“Question I’m asking is, who locked them in?” Coulson replied.
“Great, just great. A creature that can drain a whole human being and something else that is intelligent enough to lock doors and is also possibly dangerous.” Kris shook her head and sighed. “I’m so retiring after this.”
“You’re too young to retire,” Coulson chuckled.
“Don't care. I'm gonna do it anyway.”
Mack and Coulson hauled the man onto a chair in the other corner of the room.
Suppose it’s better than leaving the guy on the floor.
“You know what, Coulson?” Mack threw his hands in the air, sounding annoyed. “I agree with Kris. I’m out. We get through this, I am packing it in.”
“Sorry, Mack. You already quit years ago,” Coulson replied.
“Yeah, well I didn't quit hard enough.”
Coulson ignored him and turned to Jemma. “So, are these people human?”
“Humanoid, at least. Means we aren't the first ones here.”
“Hey! Wake up!” Coulson returned to the unconscious man. “Geez, Mack, how hard did you hit him?”
“What do you mean?” Mack asked, confused. “As hard as I possibly could. Look, I don’t half-hit people. It's a punch. That's why it's called a punch.”
“Are you sure you didn’t kill him? He's been out for a while.” Kris joined Coulson next to the man, crouching down to get a good look at him.
“No, I didn’t kill him.” Mack sounded offended.
“Okay, sorry, I’m just asking.” Kris held up her hands. Coulson began rummaging around in the guy’s pockets.
“Uh, are you sure you should be doing that?” Kris asked.
“I'll give back anything we find once he wakes up. Right now we need answers and he's not conscious enough to give them. Help me, will you?”
Kris sighed. “Alright. Whatever you say, sir.”
She pulled back the front of his jacket and checked the pockets of his shirt. Nothing. Then something caught her eye, something under his sleeve. She lifted the fabric to reveal words on his wrist.
“Hey, good news. He’s definitely human.” She held up his wrist for the others to see. Jemma went back to the pile of dead bodies and checked their wrists as well.
“They all have words on their wrists. So it is a human outpost.” She sounded hopeful.
“Yeah, and of course it's being overrun by creatures that suck out your innards.” Mack sighed. “I should’ve been a fireman.” He walked past Jemma and threw the wrench on the table with clang.
~~~
Eventually the unconscious guy, Virgil, woke up. He seemed awestruck by the team but didn’t have a chance to explain why before spiky blue alien stabbed him through the head. The team ran out into the corridor trying to get away from it. It cornered them in a dead end but Daisy saved them, using her powers to make the thing explode in midair. She asked if they had an explanation but they couldn’t tell her much.
“Apparently Fitz didn't get taken,” Jemma turned to Daisy.
“No. At least, he wasn’t in the room with the monolith,” Daisy replied. “I was the last to go through. I saw it all.”
“Well, that's some relief. He’s safe from this, better off than we are.”
“Yeah. You okay?”
“Fine. What, do you think he isn’t better off? He has to be.” Kris could hear the panic rising in Jemma’s voice.
“No, that's not what I'm saying.”
“Jemma, I’m sure he’s fine.” Kris tried to calm her down. But Jemma ignored them both and continued talking.
“Or that he did something drastic? He wouldn’t do that. He was right there with us at the diner,” Jemma began speaking faster as she panicked more.
“No, I'm not saying any of that. It's just you guys are constantly torn apart,” Daisy said.
“Cursed, as he would say.” Jemma rolled her eyes. “Well, I'm not afraid that he isn’t here. I'm thrilled. He’s no doubt working this problem, probably trying to get a message to us right now. Better for everyone he isn’t here.”
“Right. We still need one member of the team on Earth to get us home,” Kris reasoned. “Good thing it’s Fitz, too. He’s the only one who knows how to build the stuff we need to get back. Besides, you two are soulmates. You’ll always find your way back to each other, no matter what”
“Yeah, you're probably right.” Jemma didn’t sound too convinced but Kris was just glad her friend wasn’t panicking anymore.
“Yeah, well, May did get pulled through,” Daisy addressed everyone. “I saw it. So we should find her.”
~~~
As the team walked through the maze of corridors, Coulson and Jemma hung back to discuss how and when this place had been built. Then Yo-Yo spotted a flare lying on the floor and Mack hurried back to get Jemma and Coulson. The flare died as the others caught up with them. Mack approached the nearby door and everyone moved behind him. He got a confirmation nod from Coulson before kicking the door open. They barged inside only to find an empty room. Well, not completely empty. A couple of bodies were lying on the floor, seemingly killed the same way as the ones in the other room.
“Nothing.” Daisy sighed.
“Nothing alive.” Yo-Yo corrected her.
As they searched the room, Daisy bumped into a console against the wall.
“‘Water Reclamation’,” she read. She started pressing buttons and the console lit up.
They all watched as Daisy pulled up a map of what appeared to be space. She pressed a few more buttons but the monitor began beeping. A message flashed up on screen saying in large capital letters:
HUMAN ACCESS DENIED
Underneath that was writing in a language Kris had never seen before.
“Coulson, do you recognise this language?” Daisy asked.
He approached the monitor and took a look.
“No. I don’t think humans are running this place after all.”
Then there was a thud on a door next to them. They all turned to look at the source of the noise. The doors burst open and three tall blue aliens entered the room. One of them raised a gun while another slammed a staff into Yo-Yo. She fell back and Mack stepped forward, punching the alien in the face. His head whipped to the side but he seemed mostly unaffected as he turned back to Mack. The one with the gun raised it in the air and a pulse of light shot out of it, knocking them all back.
~~~
Kris began to stir, until someone grabbed her leg, and she shot up. The blue alien holding her ankle snarled at her as she kicked him. She glanced quickly around the room and realised no one else was awake. She felt panic rising in her chest and tightening her throat, making it hard to breathe. She used her panic to strengthen her powers and the alien holding her suddenly let go, growling in pain. She scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, fighting the lightheadness.
The other two aliens advanced towards her. Kris backed away but the one with the staff grabbed her arm. He raised the weapon above his head, ready to bring it down on her. She sent a wave of pain through his hand and up his arm. He recoiled and cried out in pain, letting go of her. The other reached out for her so she used her new-found non-touch related abilities against him. It was more successful than the other attacks and he crumpled to the ground in agony. She used this chance to escape, dodging the first alien who had recovered. She pulled the door open and fled into the corridor. He stalked out after her but she kept running. She rounded a corner but didn't hear any heavy footsteps following her. She stood against the wall, listening. She heard one of aliens in the room call out to the one in the corridor. She heard him retreat back into the room. She dared to peek around the corner and saw them dragging her friends from the room. At the end of the corridor, they split off, two of them taking Daisy, Coulson and Jemma, and the other one taking Yo-Yo and Mack.
Shit.
She noticed a loose panel in the wall beside her. Opening it, she realised it was a vent system. It seemed to lead off to the left, the way Daisy, Coulson, and Jemma were taken. So Kris decided to follow them.
She crept along the vents as quietly as she could. She watched through a grate as the aliens (were they Kree? Despite being Inhuman, Kris had never seen a Kree before but Daisy did say they were tall and blue) put her friends in a cell, then they shut the door with a loud bang and stood guard outside.
I need to get them out of there. But rescuing them on my own is off the table. Maybe I should go find May, she might be able to help.
Before she could do anything, she heard Daisy’s voice.
“Hey.” Daisy smacked the door. “What are you gonna do with our friends?”
“Whatever we want,” one of the guards replied. “Experiment. They knew the rule and they broke it.”
“They're not gonna make it easy for you.”
The guard approached the door. “No. They’ll beg for their lives, as you humans always do. I've done 22 rotations, and I have never observed anything else.”
Kris could hear her friends continuing their conversation inside the cell but their voices were too muffled to make out what they were saying. She moved further back to get a better view of the door. Then she caught sight of May making her way down the corridor towards the guards. She was leaning heavily against a man in a brown leather jacket and she appeared to have an injured leg. The man spoke quietly to one of the guards, who regarded him with disdain before opening the cell door and the man rushed inside.
“Buddy!” he called out loudly. The rest of what he said, although equally as loud, was still muffled by the cell walls. Kris strained her ears but still couldn't hear much. She saw the man approach one of the guards again and lean in to whisper to him. The guard stepped aside and allowed everyone to leave with the stranger.
Suspicious of this newcomer, Kris followed them, waiting until they were in an empty corridor to kick out the vent covering. The team turned around, ready to fight, but relaxed when they saw her.
“What the hell?” Daisy exclaimed. “Where have you been?”
“I managed to escape before they dragged us away.”
“How?”
“They thought it would be a good idea to touch me.” Kris smirked and Daisy returned it.
“So, it works on non-humans?” Jemma inquired. Kris shrugged.
“Apparently.”
“Good to know. Could be useful,” Daisy murmured.
“Speaking of non-humans,” Kris added, “those were definitely Kree, right? Tall, blue, want to experiment on humans?”
“Yep, definitely Kree,” Daisy answered.
“Oh, great. As if this couldn’t get any worse.”
The new guy gave Kris a strange look then turned to Coulson. “What the hell happened to Virgil? The Roaches get him?”
“Sorry to say. Was he a friend?”
“Acquaintance. He owed me a ton of tokens for this job.”
“Job?” Jemma asked.
“All he said was that he wanted to hide some people. That's not unheard of. So I was hired to supply the Metrics and swap them out.”
Kris turned around sharply to face him. She hadn't been paying much attention to what he was saying, she was too busy looking out for more Kree guards. But now he had her full attention.
“But you guys don't even have Metrics,” he continued. “Which means that you don't have the tokens to cover Virgil’s end, so have fun.” Then he turned his gaze to Kris, their eyes meeting for the first time. “What about you? I don't suppose you have a Metric?”
Without fully registering what he had just said, she replied angrily, “Okay, seriously, what the hell is a Metric?”
The man stilled. “You really don’t know what a Metric is?”
“No. Clearly I don’t.”
“Guess I owe Virgil ten tokens. Or I would, if he were alive,” the man said grimly.
Kris crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow at him. “Oh, really? And why is that?”
The man opened his mouth, paused for moment then closed it again. Whoever he was, he was making her blood boil.
“Look, I suggest you start explaining what the hell is going on here.”
“Or what, you'll make me?” He mocked.
“Yeah. I will.” She tilted her chin up and held his gaze steadily. He looked her up and down, assessing her, then sighed in exasperation.
“Fine. The only people who wouldn’t know what Metrics are, are people who don’t live here. So, Virgil always said that this was proof that his mythical Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. really were coming to save humanity.”
“Well, we are Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But what proof are you talking about?” Kris frowned at him. Apparently his definition of explanation was to invite more questions than he answered. The whole team watched as he held out his wrist and pulled up his sleeve.
‘Okay, seriously, what the hell is a Metric?’ was written clearly on his wrist. Kris blinked, taken aback. Then she slowly held out her own arm, revealing her words, the same questions he had first asked her staring back at him. Their gazes moved up from each other’s wrists back to their eyes.
“Well, shit,” they said simultaneously.
The whole corridor was silent, the team looking between their friend and the stranger, waiting to see who would make the next move. Kris dropped her arm back to her side first.
“Looks like you've got a lot more explaining to do.”
“Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you,” the man retorted. He started to turn away from her but he paused, then turned back. “The name’s Deke, by the way.” Something about the way he said that, quieter than before and less hostile, surprised her. Her eyes glanced over him before returning to his bright blue eyes. She spoke softly,
“Kris.”
#au_gust#au_gust 2022#august writing challenge#marvel#agents of shield#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher
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Full Name: Kristina 'Kris' Fletcher
Alias: Nomad
Face Claim: Alona Tal
Age: 28 (season 3); 29 (season 4); 30 (season 5); 31 (season 6+7); 32 (finale)
Moral Alignment: Chaotic Good
Species: Inhuman
Nationality: British
Birthplace: Sheffield, England
Family: George Fletcher (father, deceased); Helen Fletcher (mother, deceased)
Occupation: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Abilities: Pain Manipulation
Skills: Hand-to-hand combat; Marksmanship
Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) // Playlist // Cover
#my ocs#agents of shield#agents of shield fanfic#deke shaw#deke shaw fanfic#deke shaw x oc#oc: kris fletcher#fic: touch me (til i find myself)
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Touch Me (Til I Find Myself) ~ Chapter 9
Word Count: 4.6k
Masterlist // AO3
The team gathered in the containment pod, waiting for Enoch to release it from the Zephyr.
“Are you sure this thing is safe?” Deke asked.
“We’ll be fine,” Jemma assured him. “It’s been through worse.”
Once they were separated from Z-One, Fitz navigated the pod towards the Lighthouse, docking outside one of Kasius’ levels. The doors opened, revealing the corridor in almost complete darkness, lit only by red lights. This level was nicer than the human levels – there were no exposed pipes or uneven floors. Instead, this corridor was much cleaner, with smooth white walls that didn’t have a mark on them.
And it was silent. The human levels had been overcrowded and noisy, but this corridor was deserted. The Lighthouse had been ominous before but this made Kris feel even more uneasy.
Everyone exited cautiously, using their torches to scan the surrounding area.
“All clear,” Daisy announced as Deke closed the containment pod doors.
“Hopefully we can say the same for Enoch,” Fitz added.
Enoch had stayed behind on the Zephyr in order to power up the machine to send them home. He had hidden himself in the lab after ensuring the team’s escape, suspecting that the Kree would search the ship.
Just then, Coulson’s radio crackled.
“The diversion seems to have worked,” Enoch’s robotic voice came through. “They’re still searching the ship.”
“Good,” Coulson replied. “You’re secure?”
“Yes. The machine will be online by the time Flint builds the monolith.”
“Easier said than done.” Coulson sighed.
They continued down the corridor, carefully checking around corners for any Kree. Fitz held one half of the shard tightly in his hand.
“So, one more time,” Deke said. “The machine uses the little piece to trigger the bigger piece through space?”
“Yeah, or time,” Fitz replied shortly.
“It mirrors the harmonic resonant frequency of photons which can exist out of space-time,” Jemma explained more thoroughly.
“Yeah, I hear you saying words, but what–what do they –” Deke stuttered, only to be interrupted by Daisy.
“If Flint can’t construct the monolith, none of this matters.”
“Robin said he can,” May insisted, “so I believe it.”
“He’s just a kid, May,” Kris reminded her. “He only got his powers recently. He might not have the right amount of control or the strength to build something out of nothing.”
“We’ll talk him through it once we meet them,” Jemma reassured.
“You two get that thing to Flint,” Coulson addressed Fitzsimmons. “We’ll worry about survivors –”
“And kill Kasius,” Deke added.
“– Get them to safety.”
“And then we kill Kasius?” Deke insisted. “When does that happen? Because some of us aren’t getting out of here on a magic rock.”
All of the horrible things Kris had heard about Kasius flashed through her mind – enslaving people and removing their hearing, breeding Inhumans and making them fight each other, then selling them to the highest bidder, buying the Roaches to keep the humans under control, sending people to the surface to die, public executions, the Renewals, the bombs in the oxygen supply that Mack had told them about … the list went on and on. They had to take him out to ensure humanity’s survival.
“He’s right,” Kris chimed in. “We can’t leave while Kasius is still alive.”
“We won’t leave until humanity is in control of its future,” Coulson promised. “But, in the meantime, everyone do your job. Then meet at the rendezvous point.”
Fitzsimmons nodded and left, going to meet Mack, Yo-Yo, and Flint. The rest of them went down another corridor, determined to free the Inhumans Kasius had imprisoned.
~~~
Four Kree guards marched down the corridor, surrounding a group of young Inhumans. The team hid, waiting to ambush them. As the group approached, Coulson nodded to Deke, who rounded the corner and shot the guard at the front in the chest.
May appeared from behind, stabbing another guard in the back. Coulson shot another guard with an ICER Fitz had given him, while Daisy ducked an axe swing from another.
The guard Deke had shot stayed standing, charging at him. Kris darted out from behind Deke, tackling the alien and causing him to stumble back a few steps. Kris yanked the massive gun from his hands and beat him over the head with it. While the Kree was knocked off balance, she aimed the gun at him and shot him again. He crumpled to the ground, collapsing in a heap. Behind her, Daisy violently bashed her opponent’s head against the wall while Coulson encouraged the Inhumans to escape.
“Let’s go! Go, go, go!” He waved his hand, urging the Inhumans to follow him. “Get the Inhumans to the Trawler!”
May ushered the Inhumans in the right direction, joining Deke and Kris at the back of the group. Kris dropped the Kree gun, letting it clatter beside the guard's body. It was too heavy to carry around and too bulky to work with her fighting style.
“Guns, man!” Deke’s voice was filled with excitement. “It’s like cheating! They shouldn’t give these to anyone that’s not a really, really good person.”
“You think there’d be a law,” May muttered sarcastically, making Kris chuckle.
The three of them followed the Inhumans. Kris heard Coulson shout for Daisy, his tone urgent. She turned to see Coulson raising his gun at some guy charging at Daisy. May grabbed her arm, pulling her forward.
“He’s human. They can handle it,” she reminded Kris.
They made their way through the Lighthouse, Deke leading the group with Kris just behind him, and May bringing up the rear. Deke had his gun out, clearly trying to copy the way the agents held their guns. But he was waving it around a little bit too wildly for Kris’ taste.
“Alright, give me that.” She snatched it from his grasp.
“Hey, come on,” he protested.
“Remember what I said about caution and restraint? You are far too trigger-happy and definitely not practising proper gun safety.”
“So, you’re leaving me defenceless against the Kree? You know, the aliens that are bigger and stronger than the average human?”
“Oh don’t be so dramatic.” Kris rolled her eyes. “As tempting as that may seem, no. You’ll get it back if we run into danger. Until then, it’s confiscated so you don’t accidentally kill someone.”
“‘Tempting’? You’re tempted to leave me at the mercy of the Kreepers?” Deke pretended to be offended. “How heartless. And after all the good times we’ve shared together.”
Kris’ head whipped around to glare at him. May was close behind them and could have overheard him. And if he was referring to what she thought he was …
He saw her expression and sighed. “Joking,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Whatever,” she muttered. “Just watch it.” The threat in her voice was unmistakable.
Eventually, they reached the docking station where another Trawler was waiting for them. May and Kris helped the Inhumans on board, assuring them they were safe now.
When Kris noticed Deke was no longer with them, she turned to see him standing with … Tess? Kris’ eyes widened – it couldn’t be her. Surely not.
“I heard you were dead,” Deke breathed, astounded. Tess nervously played with her hands, avoiding looking at him. “You look good for … dead. I mean … You don’t look great, but you – I mean, you’ve been through something, but –” Deke stumbled over his words, trying to reassure Tess.
“It’s good to see you too, Deke,” Tess cut him off, smiling slightly.
Deke smiled back. They stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to say next. Deke gave her a small nod and then joined the team by the ladder. Kris saw Coulson talking to Tess. Of course he would. If anyone understood what she was going through, it was him. Being brought back from the dead wasn’t a pleasant experience, or so she had heard.
Deke kept glancing back at Tess, as if unsure she was really there.
“You don’t have to come to the rendezvous point with us, you know,” Kris reminded him. “You can stay here, leave with them.” She gestured down the ladder to the people in the Trawler.
Deke glanced down as one of Kasius’ servants descended. There was a hint of longing in his eyes, as if he was considering it. But then it was gone, replaced with resolve.
“No. My dad died making sure you guys got here. I have to make sure you get back. Finish what he started.”
Kris admired his determination, but she wasn't comfortable with Deke putting himself in harm's way to help them – there was always the chance he might not make it out, and she really didn't need that on her conscience. Kris opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted.
“Okay, the Trawler’s almost ready,” Daisy announced as she left the hangar. “We should get to the rendezvous.”
“You okay flying them up to the human levels?” May asked Tess.
“I’ve been watching enough to manage on my own,” Tess said confidently. “I’ll be back for Flint, and anyone else coming up.” Her eyes darted behind Coulson to Deke.
“Good.” Coulson smiled. “Now get out of here.”
Tess smiled back then hopped up into the hangar. As Coulson was about to close the doors, she turned to him.
“You were right. We can fight back.”
Kris was glad Tess was back, even if her resurrection had been unpleasant. She would make a good leader – organised, cool-headed, and authoritative when she needed to be. Humanity would be in safe hands with Tess and Flint.
~~~
They made it to the rendezvous point but Fitzsimmons, Mack, Yo-Yo, and Flint hadn’t arrived yet. The room was silent, the air thick with tension as they waited.
Suddenly, the radio crackled to life.
“Hello again,” Enoch’s calm voice echoed in the quiet room. “They have located me. Repeat, they have located me.”
Coulson picked up the radio. “We copy. You sure they found you?”
“The evidence is highly suggestive.” Enoch’s voice remained emotionless, completely unbothered by the fact that their whole plan was on the brink of ruin. Kris was starting to hate him more and more.
“We never should have left him alone.” Coulson sighed.
“We’re here forever if he loses control of that machine,” May stated.
“Goddamn it,” Kris muttered defeatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Enoch, how long can you hold out?” Coulson asked, panic seeping into his voice.
There was a pause before Enoch replied. “I calculate twelve minutes.”
May shook her head and sighed.
“What?” Daisy asked disbelievingly. “That is not enough time. That machine activates a monolith we haven’t even built yet.”
“We have to go secure the Zephyr,” May suggested.
“It’s too far away,” Kris chimed in. “We won’t make it there and back in time.”
“Oh, damn it. Really?” Deke groaned. “We had to leave the machine in the hands of some automaton?”
Kris and Daisy crossed their arms and frowned at him.
“Hey, none of us were exactly thrilled at the idea,” Kris retorted. “You were the one who told us the Kree can scan for lifeforms onboard. He was the only one who could be left behind and not be detected.”
“Yeah, well, this whole thing was a shitty idea! I knew the moment that I laid eyes on all of you that this was going to spell my downfall.” He paced around, sighing.
“Hey, no one asked you to stick around,” Kris reminded him harshly. “In fact, we made it pretty clear we wanted you to get lost.”
“You were the ones following me around!” Deke gestured at her and Daisy.
“Because we didn’t trust you to keep your mouth shut,” Kris countered.
“God, I hate you,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes. “Look, I’ll go.” He held out his hand towards Kris, palm up. “But I’d rather not walk in there unarmed.”
Kris hesitated, unsure if he was serious. He raised his eyebrows at her impatiently and she relented. She pulled out the gun that she had stashed in her belt and, turning it to face her, handed it over grip first. He took it while the others watched, stunned.
“I’ll secure the machine and … save the weird robot.” He sounded defeated.
Coulson and Daisy exchanged a glance.
“Well, I’ll come,” Daisy offered. “It’d be better if we take the plane together.”
“Yeah. No duh!” Deke said sarcastically. “But, as Kris said, none of the time-travellers can go because you all need to be at the rendezvous when it’s turned on. So, do the math.”
“You’re one guy against the Kree,” Coulson interjected. “You’ll be massively out-gunned.”
Deke opened his arms wide. “Kinda trying to do the whole hero thing here, man. Is that your pep talk?”
Kris almost smiled at his sarcasm. Deke had a point – it was a pretty shit pep talk.
Deke sighed. “You guys get killed, and who saves the world then? I told my parents not to believe in this Roach-crap fairy tale, and they went and they died for it anyway. And I’m probably next in line.” His voice was strained, holding back his emotions. “But there is no way in hell that I am gonna let some blue Kreeper destroy that machine before I get to see whether or not that damn thing was worth any of this!”
Deke tried to walk off but Daisy stopped him. “Look, I’m sure you put up a good fight. But if my ride home depends on that machine, I’m gonna secure it myself.”
“You-you drive me out of my skull,” Deke said through gritted teeth. “This part of you – this impetuous, bull-headed, squabbling –”
“I was offering backup, genius,” Daisy yelled.
“No, when the other side of you is a friggin’ hero who can’t help herself but do good, then be great. The world needs that person to make it home.” There was a pause as Deke’s words sunk in. Kris thought that was the first time he had ever complimented Daisy. “Just try not to destroy it when you get there.” And the Deke they knew was back.
“Deke’s right,” Kris cut in. “I can’t believe I keep saying that, but he is. You’re Quake, you’re a hero. You’re a symbol people can get behind and the world needs that. You have to go back. I don’t.”
“Hang on, what?” Daisy asked incredulously.
“And besides,” Kris continued, ignoring her. “Kasius wants you – you’d be walking straight into a trap. However, he doesn’t know or care about me so I’m the best option to provide Deke with backup. Because let’s be honest, he’s really going to need it.”
“Rude.” Deke made a face at her.
“Kris, if you don’t make it back to the monolith –” May started, but Kris interrupted.
“Who cares? If I’m being honest, this is maybe a bit of a selfish decision. I have a better chance of survival if I stay here.” She avoided Daisy’s gaze as she said that, knowing it would hurt her friend’s feelings. “And there are untrained Inhumans here. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried every method of controlling Inhuman powers with me, so I could help them. And I have the knowledge of the way things were before the apocalypse, so I can help humanity find its future.” She turned to Coulson with pleading eyes. “I can do some good.”
“What about the good you can do back home?” he asked. “What about the people you can save there?”
“Sir, I might not survive –”
“We won’t let that happen,” Coulson promised her. “We need to stick together. It’s the only way we’ll be able to fix this.”
Kris opened her mouth to argue but Deke spoke up first.
“Yeah, no offence, but I kinda want the glory of a heroic self-sacrifice all to myself.” He grinned at her. “Besides, I can’t wait to be rid of you. You’ve been hanging around me from the moment we met so, just this once, leave me the hell alone.”
Just like in Grill’s, even though he was coming across as arrogant and selfish, Kris recognised that he was trying to help her. She debated with herself for a moment – she didn’t want to stay in this post-apocalyptic future but she still thought it was the best course of action. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught May and Coulson glancing at each other. She knew that look – they weren’t going to let her go back to the Zephyr.
She sighed, giving in. “Fine, go and get yourself killed. See if I care.”
Deke rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Thank god you’re leaving. You’re insufferable, all of you.”
“It was almost nice knowing you,” Daisy retorted as Deke walked away.
“Can’t wait to never see you again,” Kris called after him.
“This has been the worst experience of my life,” he shouted over his shoulder. “So, good riddance.”
“God, you are still the most infuriating person I’ve ever met.”
He turned to give her one last playfully exasperated look. “And you’re still a giant pain in my ass.”
Then he rounded the corner and he was gone. Hopefully for good this time.
There was a small part of her, though, that thought she might actually miss him. A very, very small part.
No, he had done nothing but annoy her since they met, she reminded herself. She was glad to see the back of him.
~~~
May, Coulson, and Kris stood guard as Daisy fixed the elevator panel. It was eerily silent and they were all on edge. They had left the rendezvous when the others hadn’t shown up, and decided to head straight to Kasius’ suites where Flint would build the monolith. They just hoped the others were there already.
“How we looking?” Coulson asked.
“Almost done,” Daisy replied, her face screwed up in concentration.
The panel beeped faintly and the screen which Daisy had removed lit up. She tapped a few buttons and the elevator doors opened.
“All set,” she announced. “Express train to the bottom of the Lighthouse, no stops.”
“Right to the belly of the beast,” May added.
They walked inside, unsure of what to expect but preparing for a fight.
But Daisy hesitated.
“Daisy,” Coulson addressed her, “can’t waste time.”
Daisy glanced between them all, then back at Coulson with a determined look in her eyes.
“I’m not coming,” she stated simply.
Coulson exchanged a glance with May then stepped towards Daisy. “I know you’re scared about going home –”
“No, I’m terrified. Look around. Billions of people, gone. If there’s a chance I’m the cause … I can’t go.” Her voice was quiet as she shook her head.
May stepped forward. “We can get through this together. You don’t even have your powers anymore.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” Daisy argued, “and you know it. If there’s an emergency or if one of you is in danger, I will need them, and we will find a way. If I go through that portal, you know it’s the beginning of the end.” She avoided looking at Kris as she said that.
“I don’t,” Coulson countered. “We don’t even know you did this.”
“I was right in the epicentre.”
“Coulson’s right,” Kris interjected. “We don’t know for sure that you did this.” Daisy opened her mouth to argue but Kris carried on. “There was someone else, remember? In that news report, they mentioned another powered person. It could have been them –”
“You don’t actually believe that? Like Deke said, who else could have done this except me?”
“You can’t stay here,” Kris insisted. “You have to come back with us.”
“You, of all people, should want to stay as far away from me as possible!” Daisy exclaimed.
“Well, I don’t,” Kris retorted. “You’re my friend, Daisy. And I am not leaving you behind.”
“None of us are,” Coulson added. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourself because you’re scared of what’s to come.”
“What’s to come is the end of everything!” Daisy replied harshly.
“If you can change the future here, you can change it from back home,” May insisted.
“But we know this solution works,” Daisy argued, almost pleading with them. “We can stop this today.”
“No, it’s not about today,” Coulson said. “It’s about tomorrow. Even if we solve this problem, the world is never safe. The job goes on. We go on.” There was a pause as he stared at Daisy, his eyes desperate for her to change her mind. “Please.”
But Daisy was not backing down “Maybe I don’t go with you. You know it's the right move. Coulson, as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., you trained me to fight. Now I’m making my stand … here.”
“May trained you to fight,” Coulson replied, turning away. Then he suddenly turned around again. “I need you to lead.”
Coulson shot Daisy with the ICER. She thudded to the floor while May and Kris stared, frozen in shock.
Coulson walked over to Daisy, put his gun away then picked her up gently, carrying her into the elevator with them. He looked between May and Kris like he was daring them to say something. Neither of them did.
Kris tapped the panel on the wall and the doors closed, sending them down further into Kasius’ levels.
~~~
They entered Kasius’ suites where Mack, Jemma, Fitz, and Flint were already waiting for them. Another girl was with them, dressed in the light blue robes of Kasius’ servants.
“What happened?” Jemma asked, concerned for Daisy.
“He ICE’d her,” May replied coldly. “She didn’t want to come.”
“I’m not leaving anyone behind,” Coulson insisted as he laid Daisy down on a table.
“Where’s Yo-Yo?” Mack asked. “She didn’t find you?”
Kris shook her head. “We haven’t seen her.”
“She’s not with you?” Coulson asked.
“No, she was picking up some survivors. She should be back by now.”
The team shot each other worried glances.
“She’ll make it back,” Coulson assured them all. “She’s strong.”
Mack picked up his shotgun axe and started towards the corridor.
“Hurry,” Coulson urged him. “Who knows when that portal’s gonna open.”
May headed over to Flint while Jemma stayed by Daisy’s side.
“You’re Flint?” May asked him.
He turned around to face her and nodded. “Yes.”
May smiled at him. “You’re going to get us home.”
He smiled back at her. “Yes. I am.”
“Good.” The smile dropped off her face and she was back to being serious May. “What are you waiting for?”
She stepped away and Flint turned back to stare at the monolith shard in his hands. Kris felt for him – this was a lot to put on his shoulders so soon after he received his powers. She watched him shut his eyes and take a deep breath. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the shard floated out of his hand, coming to a stop a few feet in front of him. It hovered there, above a pile of rocks, waiting.
The rest of the team looked up, intrigued by what was happening. The rocks also began to float, moving closer to the shard. White limestone was removed from the walls, the thin clouds of dust flowing through the air towards the shard. The rocks connected with each other seamlessly, slowly building up the monolith they had seen before.
Once it was complete, they all stared in awe. Kris walked up to Flint, patting him on the shoulder.
“Nice work, kid. You’re a natural.”
“Thanks.” Flint smiled, almost surprised at himself.
Coulson grabbed the radio. “Deke, come in.”
“Yeah, we’re here,” came Deke’s reply.
“We got the monolith built,” Coulson informed him. “I think it might work. How’s the machine coming?”
There was a pause, then Deke answered him. “It’s great. We found a fix for the machine.” His tone was upbeat but something didn’t feel right.
“Good. You were right about taking the Zephyr.”
“Just make sure everyone’s in place the second we get it powered on, alright? We’re only gonna get one shot at this.”
“Right.” Coulson’s voice was low. “You know, your parents would be proud of you.”
Another long pause. “Well, we’re about to give them a hell of a show.”
Kris thought that was a weird thing to say until she realised what he meant. Her eyes widened.
“Thanks. We’ll have everyone in place.” Coulson turned away from the monolith to face the team, turning off the radio. “That machine’s gonna explode. It’s not safe down here.” He spoke to Flint and the girl in particular.
“What?” Flint looked around at them.
“You’re welcome to come back with us, but if not, you got to leave now,” Coulson told him. “Meet Tess at the Trawler.”
“Where? Which one?” the girl asked, panic seeping into her voice.
“But Mack, Yo-Yo … they’re not back yet,” Flint worried. He looked around them like he was hoping they had a plan. But they didn’t. Either Mack and Yo-Yo made it back in time or they didn’t. There wasn’t much else they could do.
Flint sighed then looked up at Coulson. “Tell them I had more work to do.”
Coulson nodded and Flint took the girl’s hand, leading her away to rejoin the rest of humanity.
“Come on. I know the way.”
The girl thanked them before they hurried off. Then Jemma approached Coulson.
“Coulson, what’s happening?” she asked.
“Where are they?” he asked in return, referring to Mack and Yo-Yo. If anyone knew, it would be Jemma – she had spent the most time down here.
Jemma thought for a moment, then it suddenly occurred to her. “I know where they are.”
“Go.” Coulson nodded.
Jemma ran off and Kris started to follow her but Coulson stopped her.
“Not you.”
“Sir –”
“Too many of us are missing. I’m trying to keep as many here as possible.”
Kris relented, but she wasn’t happy about it.
“What about Deke?” she asked. “We can’t leave him in the Zephyr. He’ll die.” Coulson didn’t say anything. “We have to wait as long as possible before firing up the machine. He deserves a chance to escape with everyone else.”
“He might not make it to the Trawler in time,” Coulson said. “We can’t delay their take off for one person.”
“And none of us can rescue him without being left behind or, worse, killed in the explosion,” May chimed in.
“We can’t just let him die without trying to help him. That’s not how we do things.” Kris frowned.
“It sounds like he knows what’s going to happen,” Coulson said quietly. “He’s made his choice and we should respect that.”
“Guys, we got a problem,” Deke’s voice crackled on the radio.
Coulson picked it up. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m using Enoch to power the machine, but I’m losing him. You gotta launch now.”
“What?” Fitz snatched the radio from Coulson. “No, Deke, it’s too early. The team isn’t back yet.” He paused. “Enoch. Enoch, buddy, hang on. I know that you’ve done so much already, but please, please just hang on.”
“Guys, I’m buying as much time as I can here!” Deke sounded panicked.
“The rock’s gonna open,” May radioed Jemma. “Get here now!”
“I always knew that working with you guys was gonna blow up in my face!” Deke yelled. “But it’s about to get literal!”
Coulson picked up Daisy and the team gathered in front of the rock, anxiously checking the door behind them for any sign of the others.
“You know she’ll never forgive you, right?” May asked Coulson.
He glanced down at Daisy, still unconscious. “I have to hope.”
“We’re losing him! I’m out of time!”
The rock began to shake. Then a bright light blinded them as the monolith turned to white liquid. Kris threw her arm over her eyes to shield them as she felt the liquid wash over her ankles, dragging her under.
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